Metro Car Wash

Metro's Letter to the Government

2012-02-03T04:48:00.000-08:00

Politics, politics, politics. Debates, debates, debates. It’s all the news seems to cover lately (well, that and the Kardashians). So, hey, we’ll sprinkle in a little of our own into the Metro News. Consider this our official letter to Washington, the Governor, or anyone else who cares to listen.

Last year, we wrote a letter to President Obama. We thought it was nice, and we did get a form letter back (I saved it; the stationary is super cool), but in all honesty, we don’t think he really read it. Understandable. He’s a busy guy. And yet, just the same … we do think we have something to say.

You see, we’re not political here at Metro. We’re just a small, local business trying to make our way. And for all we hear from Washington about “small businesses being the lifeblood of our Country,” it sure doesn’t feel like anyone is actually looking out for us. Seriously. That’s why we’re not Republicans or Democrats. From our perspective, everyone in politics seems out of touch.

It’s just our opinion of course. But as an example, there was a lot of time and effort spent in Washington (last year and earlier this year) on a bill called SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act). There were meetings and expensive dinners, uses of government funds, uses of good air … all aimed at protecting the Hollywood entertainment industry from the loss of a few bucks. Now don’t get me wrong: I’m sure there’s an issue there. But I’m also pretty sure now is not the right time. I mean, from what I’ve seen on TMZ, the guys in Hollywood seem to be doing alright (have you seen an awards show lately?).

And OK, sure, that’s just one silly example. I get it. But from where we’re standing (Metro, that is), it’s just awfully frustrating to hear lip service go one way (we must help small business!) and reality go the other way (here’s another tax, Buddy, we’re sure you’ll understand).

Don’t believe me? Well, here’s what we see. While Republicans are arguing for tax breaks to the wealthy and Democrats are arguing for more benefits to the poor, we just got hit with a new, surprise “special assessment” tax on payroll (because Arizona ran out of money) and another increase to Minimum Wage. I don’t know what Wall Street is doing to provide jobs here in Tucson, but Metro Car Wash employs around 70 people. We’re struggling in a tough economy, trying to keep our prices low for our customers, keeping a lot of Tucsonans employed … and the government (that so desperately wants to help us) decides the best course of action is to keep making it a little harder on us. Maybe they think they’re teaching us perseverance.

Look, I realize that I’m complaining now (which could be annoying), but I also don’t hear our story being told. That bothers me. And when I say “our” story, I really do mean all of Metro Car Wash. Believe me, my employees don’t like it either. They’re not dumb. Increases in payroll taxes and increases in Minimum Wage mean less money in their pockets. The raises that the hard-working, tenured employees were going to get? The new employees we were going to hire? Sorry folks, they were just eaten up by ever-increasing Minimum Wage and a newly invented payroll tax. It is what it is. As a matter of fact, we’ve had to cut jobs … again.

This is what I mean when I say Washington is out of touch. I’m not sure why they think a small businessperson is the best to tax if they want to create more jobs. I’m not sure how they think we can overcome these cost increases, when the economy is demanding we keep our prices low. I’m not sure I think its fair (actually, I know it’s not) that these tax increases equate to pay cuts to me and my employees, but I haven’t heard boo about pay cuts on Capital Hill. I’m not sure I understand any of it, to tell the truth, except to say this: we small businesses don’t have a voice in Washington, we won’t be benefited by tax cuts for the Wall Street crowd, no one “up there” seems to grasp the ramifications “down here,” and we think it all sort of stinks.

What I am sure of is this: we care about our employees, our community, and our local economy. We care about delivering a quality product, keeping prices low, and keeping our customers happy. We’re going to keep plugging away, Mr. and Mrs. Politician. We’re not giving up. But we’d ask you to at least do us one favor: either truly get behind what you promise, or just stop delivering the lip service. I think it’s called “practice what you preach.”

Well, that’s my rant for they year, folks. I feel better already! Our next blog will be more upbeat. I just know it (I’m thinking of bunnies, kittens or rainbows).

Until then, stay clean my friends. Hope to see some of you soon at the Wash!

DJ DripDry

Veteran's Day

2011-11-11T06:52:00.001-08:00

11/11/11, an auspicious number somehow. And a date that happens to correlate with this year’s Veteran’s Day. Whatever the reasons, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the freedoms we enjoy here in America and thought I might as well share them with you.

This contemplation actually started last Friday when I had the privilege of attending an employee’s Naturalization Ceremony here at the Federal Court House in Tucson. Many of you know Juanita from our Speedway location. She’s been the topic of a blog, an Employee of the Month, a featured story in our newsletter. She came to the U.S. from Equatorial Guinea about six years ago, got a job (at Metro), learned English, learned to drive, earned her GED, and has now earned American Citizenship. If you can’t tell, we’re super proud of her.

I’d never been to a Naturalization Ceremony before, didn’t know what to expect, thought I’d show Juanita some support. That was really about it - wasn’t expecting much - and I’m going to be honest with you: before attending, I’d also been quite a bit down on the ol’ U S of A. I won’t go into details; suffice to say, as a business owner, I’ve been frustrated with politics (both sides of the aisle), taxes, regulations, rising costs, a poor economy, the list goes on and and on. It’s easy enough to let happen (I’m only human, after all), we let things get us down.

And here’s something I’ve learned over the years: whenever you’re down, about the best cure you can hope for, is for something not too tragic to slap you in the face, just enough to give you a good dose of reality. You need something to remind you that things aren’t as bad as they seem; something to remind you that others may not have it as good. For me, the 50+ new American Citizens I got the chance to meet on Friday did just that. It was an amazing thing to see.

After swearing in the new citizens, the Judge gave these same individuals the opportunity to stand up and speak, to tell their stories, to say why American citizenship was so important to them. It was a humbling experience to say the least. People who had come from all over the world stood up, they had tears in their eyes, and they would say how thankful they were to be in a “free” country. It was the theme that was repeated over and over and over: Freedom.

The freedom of speech (to not worry that what you say will get you landed in a jail cell), the freedom of religion (or no religion at all), the freedom to start a business, to take a risk, to do whatever you feel you’re best at. Freedom. Freedom. Freedom. One young lady from Cuba looked out over the audience and said: “When you’re born in America, you just have no idea what you have. You have no idea.” And me, in the corner, feeling smaller and smaller.

Freedom.

And the truth is, unfortunate as it may seem, it is only available to us by defense. That was the other thing that was brought to light in this ceremony: how much these same freedoms are a result of our military - the military guard we have right now, and the men and women who have served in our history before them. One man in the Ceremony said (and I quote), “I will never mind paying taxes, because I know that I’m paying for the protection of my freedom.” That’s an awesome statement, actually. At least it was to me.

I wish you all could have been there. It’s an experience I won’t soon forget. And I can tell you this: I left that court house with a fresh perspective (and certainly in a better mood). I have always tipped my hat to our men and women in the military, but to some extent, I think it has just been good manners. Seeing what it is these individuals are actually protecting - the value that we should be placing on our freedom - makes my “thank you” to them a lot more sincere today.

And so here is what I want to say: Thank you. For those of you serving right now. For those of you who served in the past. Thank you. My life isn’t so bad. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty good. And I take it for granted too often. Especially the fact that it wouldn’t be this way if you didn’t/hadn’t sacrificed to serve this country. With all my sincerity, thank you.

It’s 11/11/11 today, folks. It’s Veteran’s Day. Enjoy the blue sky. Enjoy your freedom.

-DJ DripDry

A 52 Week Plan

2011-09-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

On September 1, we changed our Service Menu at Metro Car Wash.

Don’t worry, that’s not what this blog is about; it’s not a promo. I just want to begin by saying why we did it. We did it because we realized the following: (1) our menu was based on the same “sales presentation” car washes have been using for thirty years and (2) that presentation is confusing for the customer and not user-friendly.

If you’re interested, you can see our new menu at the following link: Metro Car Wash Services.

Our goal was to make things simple, simple, simple. We listened to customer feedback, did a lot of research, and then made the change. You might think that sounds easy (hey, you only changed a menu, man!), but like most things, it was harder than it looked. We wanted to really streamline things, so in addition to the menu change, we also invested in a new, web-based Point of Sale system. Like any software change, this came with it’s own set of headaches (and additional hours of work). Not only this, but we also had to change all of our signage, update our website, modify our coupons and specials, and re-train an entire staff that was VERY used to doing things the OLD way.

Suffice to say, what looks like a simple update to a service menu was in fact a very large project. It took time, planning, burning the midnight oil, and more boring meetings than I care to recall. Oh, and it was worth it. After a few opening glitches, the employees and sales staff believe it’s helping them deliver better customer service. Most importantly, our customers (you) seem to like it too. I’d like to call this a success. I’d like to say we improved ourselves considerably. Which finally gets me to the point of this blog: self-improvement. Ah-ha! Bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you?

At some point during this project, my wife paid me a compliment. Not a compliment on how buff I’m looking due to my recent efforts with P90x, nor how impressive my home maintenance skills have become of late (like you, that’s what I would have guessed too), but this was about the business.

“You guys never stop trying to improve your car wash,” she said. “Most businesses just sort of stay the same; you guys are always pushing to do something better.”

Nice to hear. And it also got me thinking about some advice I took nine years ago when we got into this business. I had a friend who had built a very successful car wash chain in California. When he heard that I’d gotten into the business, he told me this:

“Just make sure you improve one thing a week. Just one. It doesn’t have to be anything major – it can be as simple as re-organizing a filing cabinet – but improve something. At the end of the year … at the end of five years … you’ll be amazed by what your business has become.”

It was probably some of the best advice I ever took (it ranks right up there with some of my favorites from Mom and Dad … don’t lick the monkey bars in winter, pee before the movie starts, never play pool with a guy whose first name is also the name of a city).

And we did take this advice seriously. For the first four years, I actually kept an “Improvement Journal” for the car wash. There were 52 weeks, and we had to have something filled out for each of them. Some of the projects were big (new equipment, new websites, a second car wash); others were small, but when taken as whole, just as effective. Improvements don’t happen over night, they take time. And I think maybe that’s what's best about this advice: rather than looking at an overwhelming project, simply start by eating the elephant one bite at a time.

Each week, we check something off. It’s not overwhelming. And there’s always something to improve. Weeks turn into months, months into years, and then (just like my friend predicted): we’re amazed by what our business has become.

I’ll take one quick paragraph to hit some highlights: We were the first in Tucson to add an express lane, the first (and only) full-service wash to offer free self-serve vacuums, the first to significantly use the internet for communication and marketing (email coupons, website, Facebook, Twitter, Secret Shopper), the only car wash to fund a local scholarship (the money for which was raised by turning our facility into a Zombie Car Wash), the first to drug test employees, the first to have a community Honor Roll, Annual Pass Sale, 2-for-Tuesday special, Community Partnership Program, this blog, and more. And all of it was accomplished one week at a time.

In truth, if nine years ago I’d seen a snapshot of what we are today, I’d have had no idea how to get here. I wouldn’t have believed it. And I never would have guessed that 52 improvements a year could do so much.

For what it’s worth, I think this advice works in any business and in any home. I’m passing it along in the hopes that it helps some of you too. It’s pretty simple. Keep a list. Improve something every week.

It could be reorganizing your garage, holding a weekly customer service meeting, creating a new (realistic) budget, cutting out dessert, taking a walk two nights a week, spending an hour playing video games with your kids … it doesn’t really matter what it is, there are just two rules: (1) you’ve got to make the improvement stick and (2) you’ve got to come up with a new one next week.

Don’t be overwhelmed by it; it’s easier than you think. This is coming from experience.

So long, folks. I’m off to come up with this week’s improvement for Metro. Keep your eyes open. You might see it the next time you stop by.

Until then, stay clean my friends …

DJ DripDry

Reflections on our Birthday

2011-08-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

It’s our birthday! Yes it is. Yes it is.

On August 1, 2002, yours truly and business partner Pee Wee (see earlier blog) purchased the first Metro Car Wash on Oracle Road. Hard to believe 9 years have already slipped by, but then, it’s odd to think of all that has happened as well. It’s times like these when we just can’t help taking a quick inventory of the past, reflecting on the stories that got us to where we are. And to quote the late, great Jerry Garcia (it’s his birthday too, btw): What a long strange trip it’s been.

While our hair was getting thinner and our waistlines thicker, we washed cars and watched the world turn. We saw our nation go to war with Iraq (… again); we witnessed a company called Google go public and change our lives forever; we scratched our heads when Martha Stewart went to jail (Martha Stewart?) and sat numb when another Space Shuttle exploded; we braced ourselves for a Swine Flu epidemic, saw the death of the King of Pop and the birth of something called Brangelina; we got sick to our stomachs watching on as oil spilled massively into the Gulf of Mexico and wanted to cry viewing the tragedies of two different tsunamis, an earthquake in Haiti, and the flooding in New Orleans; we had to watch too many teams from Boston win titles and still never saw the Cubs win a single World Series; we witnessed Sadam Hussein hanged for crimes against humanity and witnessed the death of Osama Bin Laden; we saw the election of America’s first black president, became addicted to texting on smart phones, and witnessed the fact that novels and movies about vampires and werewolves took over the globe (who could have seen that one coming?); we got baffled watching the news that our country’s financial system had failed … that Wall Street had crumbled … that the term “bailout” could be used in dinner conversations; we watched in horror at multiple shooting rampages – something you can never come to terms with, especially when one of these incidents is in your own city, injuring one of your favorite customers.

And all of this only scratches the surface of the stories that unfolded.

In our own Metro-world, of course, times were also a changin. During the time it took our nation to go from 6 trillion dollars in debt to $13 trillion (numbers we still can’t get our head around), Metro Car Wash was also growing (though not at the same pace). We added a second location on Speedway, lots of new customers, and began to make a name for ourselves in Tucson.

In the process, we discovered that owning your own business is a lot like starting a second family. As it grows, you both struggle and celebrate, you fight and you laugh, and you always hang on to each other, because in the end, it’s all you’ve got. And just like a family (especially the colorful ones), having a car wash leaves you with plenty of your own stories. These didn’t make the national news, but I thought it might be appropriate to share a few today. We’ve always said: Metro Car Wash is one entertaining place to be.
So in case you missed some of these …

In the past nine years, my partner Pee Wee has fallen off a 30 foot ladder, been hit by a car, and found himself stuck, upside down, in a waste water reclaim pit. We’ve lost count of how many lives the dude has, but he does have an amazing ability to keep bouncing back.

As for me, an ex-accountant, I learned that the ability to go to work in shorts and tennis shoes (instead of a suit and tie) is an immeasurable luxury. Such leisure attire keeps you cooler in the summer, sure, but it also does wonders for your speed – something I didn’t realize I needed until I found myself running down the center of Oracle Road, chasing a guy on a bicycle whom I had just witnessed shoplifting from our lobby. The thief got away, but not before I came very close to getting my hand on the seat of his pants. And I’ll tell you this much: seeing a grown man run down the center of Oracle, shouting obscenities that I can’t mention here (suffice to say they’d make a pirate blush), at least sent a message to the would-be criminals around Metro; it said: Hey, we’re all just little crazy here, you might not want to try that again.

Crazy, actually, is something that seems attracted to Metro Car Wash.

Our car wash was once shut down by a police sting operation – they were cracking down on prostitution. And so why was Metro involved? Well, because after picking up a date, one of our customers decided the first thing to do was get a car wash (I wish I was kidding here, I’m not). He pulled in, followed by half of the Tucson Police Force. And his “date” (a working lady who also happened to be wearing a cast on her broken arm … I told you, crazy loves us here) decided that she wasn’t going out without a fight. What ensued at the Metro Vacuums resembled something out of a Woody Allen movie or an old episode of Laugh-In, one of those moments where you can’t do anything by just sit and stare with your mouth open, a little voice somewhere in the back of your head saying: Really? Owning a car wash is really what you want to do with your life?

On the subject of “dates,” I might also mention that we’ve discovered an underground culture that views the car wash tunnel in the same light as the Mile High Club. Not joking here either. Over the last nine years, on several occasions, we’ve had the unfortunate experience of witnessing, first-hand, couples attempting to … well … you get the picture. And let me just say this: (a) while we use a lot of soap here, the foam isn’t that thick, (b) while you may think our wash is thorough, it doesn’t take that long before you get to the rinse cycle, and (3) even if you like what you see in the mirror after your morning shower, it doesn’t mean everyone does. Enough said.

But of course, it hasn’t all been crazy either. As a matter of fact, I still wake up every morning happy to own Metro Car Wash and happy to go to work. Someone once told me: variety is the spice of life, and I think that can’t be truer than at our car wash. We really are a spicy business.

Every day we see hundreds of customers, each one bringing a little of their story into our lives. Sure, some are negative (I’ve had my life threatened because we forgot to put tire shine on all four tires); and sure, some are strange (there was one incident where an individual came back to the wash looking white as a ghost, said: “I left a brown paper bag on the patio. Did anyone turn it in?” When I said no, the individual spent an hour roaming the lot, going through the trash. When pressed, the customer said: “There was $20,000 in the bag. I didn’t want to leave it in the car; then forgot it under the patio chair.” Sad … and strange.); but for the most part, our customers are a fantastic bunch. Many of our customers have become good friends. Some have even ended up working for us. We’ve made customers cry when we’ve found jewelry under their seats that they thought they had lost. We’ve washed the cars of celebrities: professional basketball players, politicians, softball pitchers, golfers and even a movie star.

And it’s not just the customers, of course. It’s our employees too, who have added to the variety and spice of Metro. We’ve had some interesting characters over the years, for sure: budding rap stars, aspiring writers, a bull rider. But we’ve also been a stop for individuals heading for different careers, employees who have gone on to the Navy, to become nurses, and in one case a model.

The truth is, it’s these people (both customers and employees) who have inspired us to be a better business. Nothing hurts like a valid complaint; nothing feels better than a heart-felt compliment.

Over the last nine years, we’ve worked hard to constantly improve ourselves, to be both a better employer and a better service business. And as I reflect on the friends we’ve made and the stories we’ve created, I can’t help but smile. When I look in the rearview mirror, I’m pretty proud of Metro Car Wash. I don’t think we’ve done too badly. More importantly, I think we’ve only just begun.

Thanks for being a part of our lives these last nine years, folks. We’re looking forward to many more to come.

Stay clean my friends,

-DJ DripDry

Why is Everyone So Angry?

2011-06-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

Is it just me? Or do there seem to be a lot of shorter fuses these days?

You know, I’ve always said that being in the car wash business gives us a unique opportunity to keep a pulse on the general public. We see over 600 people a day at Metro Car Wash; and while this may not be an official Gallup Poll, it does give us a fairly good sample of Tucson’s population, a gauge on the collective attitudes in the Old Pueblo.

So I gotta tell ya, folks: holy bat guano, but have we become a testy bunch!

Maybe it’s the heat. Maybe it’s the economy. Maybe it’s just all the bad news we have to read and hear everyday. But one thing’s for certain: at Metro, we’re just seeing a ton of grumpy people these days. And that stinks.

Far be it from me to judge. I’m sure there are a lot of people going through some very stressful times. And I’m also glad that, even though angry or depressed, these same individuals still want a car wash. But a recent incident just got me really thinking about these bad attitudes … enough so that my wife thought I should pass it on to you.

Let me start by saying the following: I understand completely that Metro Car Wash isn’t perfect. We make mistakes every day. We let customers down every day. I don’t like this, but it’s the truth about any business. You just have to hope that you catch your mistakes and make them right as quickly as possible. That being said, I also know we’re a good organization. We care about our customers, we work hard to deliver a quality product, and we do more than any of our competition to offer a value price and to help out in the Tucson community. Furthermore, when we do make mistakes, we’re the first to admit them and fix the problems.

So … last Saturday … we had a problem. More specifically, the Free Vacuums at our Speedway location blew up. There was a noise similar to car crash, then a mushroom cloud of dust and smoke. The reason? A bolt on the inner-motor housing came off and got sucked through the producer. Long story short, it destroyed our 20hp vacuum. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, just that dirty little bolt’s (and truthfully, it couldn’t have been very pleasant for the bolt either). The bad news: from Saturday afternoon through Monday (when we could get to a supplier), we couldn’t offer the free use of vacuums to our Express customers. That really sucked (I just couldn’t help myself there).

Now, there are a few things I’ve mentioned that I think are worth repeating. Let’s start with this: the vacuums are FREE. Several years ago, we thought it would be nice to offer the use of FREE vacuums to our customers who purchased our Exterior-only wash. We didn’t raise the price (we kept it at $3.99); we just thought it would be really cool (and something no one else was doing) to add this value option. We figured it would make people happy to be getting something for nothing. And we were right. We have an army of faithful customers who get their car washed and then prefer to vacuum their own vehicles.

So on Father’s Day weekend, I had a feeling we’d have a few complaints about not being able to use the self-serve vacuums. We did. And 90% of those same people understood. A few even said they were sorry for us – that they could imagine how costly it was going to be to fix. These same people said things like: Hey, it’s FREE. I’ll just come back on Monday. No problem. Not that big of a deal. To all of you in this group: a sincere thanks for understanding, it means the world to us.

Then there were the other 10%.

I won’t go into details. Suffice to say there was considerable shouting, there were accusations of fraud, there were threats of never returning to Metro Car Wash. In all honesty, it was brutal. The fact that it was something free (like our coffee or our wireless service or our travel trash bags), meant nothing. From their anger, you’d have thought we’d just mugged their grandmother. And if this wasn’t enough, on Tuesday we also received a letter. The complaining that one gentleman had done on Sunday wasn’t enough. He took the time to write down a full page of irate dissatisfaction. I should point out: there was never a complaint about bad wash quality, it was all about not getting the FREE vacuums.

I wish I were kidding. I’m not. In this letter, I was told that I was a terrible business, that I was misleading consumers, that I should have given everyone free car washes as compensation, or at least upgraded everyone to the Full Service. He ended the letter by reminding me that (1) it was Father’s Day, (2) he was a father, and (3) “it would have been nice to have received a little extra on my day.” That last part was a direct quote. His day. When I put the letter down, I was dumbfounded.

Why are people so angry? They purchased a car wash, they received a car wash (an amazing value for something less than $4). From the comfort of their car, their vehicle was cleaned and polished by intricately tuned equipment, rinsed with gallons of specially treated water, and finally hand-dried by employees working in the blazing sun. The staff was polite, waved, said Thank You. We apologized for the free vacuums being down, said we believed they’d be available for use in a few days (free of course) … and for this – for this lack of free suction – people completely lost their cool. My manager said it was one of the worst days he’d ever experienced, so many people yelling at him, so many furious individuals.

What’s happening with our country? As I read the gentlemen’s complaint letter I got to thinking. As he was taking the time to write a full-page attack on Metro for not having free vacuums, fires were burning down Sierra Vista, homes were being lost; at the same time he was spending his free moments telling us that we had wrecked his day, some young father had just lost his job, someone had just been informed they had cancer, parents were just told they’d lost a son in Afghanistan.

To be truthful, his letter disgusted me.

I’m no preacher folks, but here’s what I want to say: if Starbucks is out of cream for your coffee, if the yogurt shop has run out of your favorite flavor, if the restaurant is a little short-staffed, or if there’s an “out of order” sign on the gas pump … please, take a deep breath and think about how much worse things could be.

These aren’t issues; they’re minor inconveniences. That’s all. And losing your temper or raising your voice does nothing to fix things. Believe me, if it were so, we would have shouted our vacuum back into working order.

And look, I’m guilty of it too. But that customer’s letter got me thinking in a way he never intended. After reading it, I realized how much I didn’t want to be like him. Life’s too short to let the small things eat you up. There’s enough trouble in the world, with or without the vacuums humming at Metro.

Hope this gave you food for thought, Tucson. And please, stay clean and CHEER UP!

--DJ DripDry

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FIRST METRO/HARKIN SCHOLARSHIP WINNER

2011-06-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

It was only a year ago that we dreamed up the idea of the Metro-Harkin Scholarship: a unique program that would pay for one complete year of schooling at Pima Community College for one deserving Tucson high school graduate. Twelve months later, the Scholarship has been established, funds have been raised, a crazy Zombie Wash was let loose in Tucson, and Terrence Peel-Charles has been awarded the first ever Metro-Harkin Scholarship for the 2011-2012 academic year.

For those of you who need a little reminding, the Metro-Harkin Scholarship is open to any graduating Tucson high school student. The aim of the Scholarship is to provide a higher education for hard-working and hard-studying individuals who might not otherwise have the means to attend college. The Scholarship was created by the owners of Metro Car Wash and Jeremy Harkin a high school English teacher.

So … for this blog, we thought we’d share a little from our upcoming press release with you. We’re proud to introduce you to Terrence, Metro’s first-ever Scholarship winner …

From the Press Release: Marana Student Wins Metro/Harkin Scholarship

Terrence Peel-Charles (18) is a recent graduate of Marana High School. He earned a 3.4 GPA, was active in Key Club, volunteered for various charity events including Aids Walk and the Special Olympics, and worked part time as an after-school Classified Enrichment Instructor. Perhaps most notably, Terrence received an opportunity his Junior Year to participate as a foreign exchange student in Germany. He didn’t know the language, had never taken a German class, and knew no one in the Country. Still, none of this stopped him from packing his bags, leaving the comforts of his family and friends, and heading to Europe for a year of his life – an intimidating scenario for anyone, but an experience that helped him grow significantly into adulthood.

“Living in Germany helped me learn things about myself I didn’t even know,” says Terrence. “The most difficult task in my life was to grasp the German language. I had to learn German at a very fast pace to survive at school. I got home from class, took out my homework and my German-to-English dictionary and translated the whole assignment for hours on end until I understood it.”

In addition to challenging him educationally, Terrence claims the experience has also made him “a more worldly person”, more aware of cultural differences (and how to navigate those barriers), and more understanding of what it means to be alone and have only yourself to depend on. These, in turn, have now shaped his goals for the future.

“I came back to America with something to prove to myself,” says Terrence. “I’ve learned there is really no challenge I can’t handle. I want to become a doctor, hopefully one that can travel abroad. And I’m not going to let any obstacles get in my way, financial or otherwise.”

Terrence is now planning to attend Pima Community College for two years before transferring to the University of Arizona. He is extremely grateful for the Metro-Harkin Scholarship, a program that will pay entirely for his first two semesters at Pima. In addition to his own education, Terrence also holds a part time job teaching children in an after-school program (holding a part time job during the academic year is a requirement of the Metro Scholarship).

“We had a lot of great applicants,” said one member of the committee that selected the recipient. “There were interesting stories, unique backgrounds – a bunch of deserving kids, really. The selection process was difficult, but in the end, Terrence was the clear winner.”

The Metro-Harkin Scholarship is funded by Metro Car Wash, as well as through donations they receive. Last year, the Company raised the lion’s share of the Fund by hosting Tucson’s first ever “Zombie Car Wash.” The charity event turned Metro’s Speedway location into a haunted theme-ride for one week in October and was met with rave reviews. The Company is planning on another Zombie Car Wash this fall; this time around Terrence will be helping.

Terrence’s selection as the Scholarship Winner was based on a committee’s cumulative score that was comprised of his grades, his scholastic attendance record, extracurricular participation, two essays, and a final interview. The Metro-Harkin Scholarship is open to all Tucson graduating high school students. Information and application instructions can be found at www.metrocarwash.com, www.metroscholarship.com, Pima Community College Foundation, or at either of the Metro Car Wash locations.

(Terrence Peel, 2011)

Meet a Metro Owner

2011-06-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

The following is a brief story about one of the nicest cowboy-hippies, turned pro-golfer, turned pro car washer, you’ll ever meet. They call him Pee Wee. And yup, we can almost say that with a straight face.

We always said this blog was going to be different. We always said it was about our community, about people. And so for this issue, I figured: why not introduce you to one of us. Why not tell you a little about one of the owners, Craig Celentano, and about his strange journey that ultimately landed him here, wiping down your car at Metro Car Wash.

First off, let’s get this straight: Craig Celentano is Tucson, through and through. He was born in 1958, the youngest of four boys (saddled with the nickname Pee Wee) and raised here in the desert by parents who had fallen in love with Southern Arizona. They loved it so much, in fact, that while Craig was still a teen his father decided it was high-time he and his sons became real-deal, authentic cowboys (the only kind to be). And so with money the Old Man had saved up, they purchased a ranch near Dodge and River – yes it was a real ranch, even though it was in the middle of town – and got down to the business of doing what cowboys do: purchased some horses and a single cow.

The cow’s name was T-Bone. And, as it turns out, T-Bone had a significant impact on young Pee Wee’s life. Primarily, the cow taught him (and his family) that maybe Pee Wee wasn’t quite cut out to be a real-deal ranch hand. After a mishap we don’t need to discuss, T-Bone found himself wondering down River Road at rush hour. Craig is still not sure where the cow wanted to go, but back to the Ranch certainly wasn’t it. When our young cowboy finally did catch up with the beast (lassoed it and at least wrestled it to the side of the road), T-Bone made a stand. It was a stand strong enough that gallant Pee Wee and his horse couldn’t budge him. A truck had to be called in for reinforcements. And as Craig Celentano helped tow T-Bone home behind the bumber (through rush hour traffic, the desert sun beating on his shoulders, horns honking), it gave him the much-needed time to think that, possibly, there was more to his future than cattle ranching.

Lucky for Craig, opportunities presented themselves. Craig’s dad was a local entrepreneur. The family first got into the restaurant business, owning the Frost Tops and then Frontier Drive-ins (for those of you old enough to remember Tucson in the 70’s), then expanded into the self-serve car wash business. The Celentano family was an Italian family with an old-school work ethic. What that meant for the boys was the chance to learn every job (at the restaurant and the wash), to work night and day (when not in school), and to do both with a smile on your face and not much pay (in other words, life as it is today). Craig could have grumbled and whined, but the truth was, even back then, there was something he really began to love about the car wash business.

But car wash careers aren’t often on the minds of high school kids. Craig attended Amphi High, and initially saw himself as a professional baseball player. Who knows what would have transpired, too, if he hadn’t blown out his knee his Freshman Year – in his mind, the only thing stopping the world from seeing another A-Rod. Instead, Craig was forced to find a new sport, something less physical. He picked up a golf club. And surprisingly, he was really good. Craig qualified for State three years in a row, mulled over his future, and went to college at the U of A. He continued to play golf, but hadn’t begun to take it seriously yet. In truth, he wasn’t taking much seriously at the time. This included his education. After two blurry years of college, he was kindly asked to leave the U of A … but hey, it was the 70’s.

So what’s a guy to do? Craig thought it over some more. He decided he needed a change of scenery. He’d grown his hair out. He thought possibly he’d make it big in California, thought maybe he’d outgrown Arizona. Again, who knows what the world might have inherited (Action film star? Philandering governor?), if it weren’t for another unexpected turn of events. This time it was serious. For a young man in California, there was of course the draw of the ocean, the draw of the beach. But while body surfacing one afternoon, Craig took a header into shallow water. It was a fluke accident. And it left him with both a broken back and a broken neck.

Craig is lucky to be alive. At the very least, he should have been paralyzed. But another thing about Craig is his stubbornness. And for whatever reason, he was both lucky enough and stubborn enough to beat the odds. The doctors called his case a miracle (I, on the other hand, tend to think more about the obstinate part); he woke from a coma, worked himself through rehab at Hogue Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, and after a long recovery was finally released. Not surprisingly, he headed straight back to Tucson. California, he decided, was not for him.

Back home, Craig began working in his family’s car wash business again. It was a job he liked, it fit him; fate was obviously calling. Only, he wasn’t quite ready to give in completely to the car wash gods. He had one more career he needed to try first.

Not long after he returned, Craig was introduced to Don Pooly (a PGA pro and former UA golfer). Craig had never stopped golfing, and Pooly was impressed enough with Craig’s game to help him into Peter Kostis’s Golf Digest School. Craig practiced, became a PGA professional out of Arthur Pack, and entertained aspirations of trying out for the PGA Tour. He spent four years working as a club pro and playing Mini-Tour Events before coming to the conclusion that, while good, he wasn’t good enough to go all the way. That being said, I still wouldn’t bet against him if you end up playing him. Someday, we may have to have a Metro Charity Golf Tournament just to prove my point.

Life’s a funny thing. Sometimes, the thing your best at is right in front of you. You just don’t see it. I sort of think that was the case with Craig. He returned once more to Tucson, to the car wash business. This time, the family’s car wash business was purchased by Blue Coral, a car wash chemical company. Craig was offered a job. It wasn’t a family business anymore, it was a big business. And over the next seventeen years, Craig rolled up his sleeves and dove into the industry with a passion. He lived and breathed car washing. He became Blue Coral’s Vice President of Sales/R&D/Tech Services – a long title, but a fitting one. He traveled all over the world as a car wash expert, selling soap, improving operations, innovating new equipment. In the car wash industry, there are very few people who don’t know the name Celentano. Lucky for Metro (and Tucson), Craig wasn’t quite finished.

Pee Wee, our cowboy with a broken back and killer golf swing, missed the intimacy and sincerity of a family business. His career was going great, but it wasn’t enough. He had a vision of what a car wash should be. He wanted his own business in Tucson. It was a dream that stuck in his head, rattled around but wouldn’t shake loose. He kept his eyes open, waited for an opportunity.

In 2002, Craig finally pulled the trigger. He’d met Sean Storer, an accountant, in the summer of 2000. He’d shared with Sean his idea for what Tucson needed in a car wash, and Sean had agreed. The two formed a partnership, drafted a business plan, and purchased their first Metro Car Wash on Oracle Rd. in August of 2002. The rest, as they say, is history.

And of course, you can still find Craig today, walking around Metro, fixing equipment, rubbing bumpers, talking with customers. He’s kept to his vision of what a quality, locally owned business should look like. The truth is: Craig loves what he does and we think it shows.

Thanks for sticking around to read this, folks. Granted, it may not be a best selling biography. But I do hope it gives you a little glimpse into who Metro is and what we’re about. The next time you’re by, look for Craig and introduce yourself. He’d love to meet you.

Until next time, stay clean my friends!

-DJ DripDry

Why You Really Should Buy Local

2011-05-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

You here it all the time these days: Buy Local! Support your local businesses! Locally owned and operated! It’s become the mantra of small commerce. A battle cry.

But here’s the question: what does “buying local” really do for you? Does it honestly help your community? Is it better? Is it the right thing to do?

How does supporting your neighborhood business, as opposed to a large company out of Boston, really impact Tucson? Impact you?

Because when you think about it, job creation is job creation. Right? If you go to any restaurant, you’re helping to support local jobs. And that stands true whether it’s a local bistro or a large chain. Correct? It all puts money back into Tucson’s economy.

So what’s the big deal? Is buying local just a gimmick? A sneaky way to guilt you into supporting small shops? Is it like your mother asking you to please be nice, to invite the nerdy kid to your party?

I think this is a valid question. And (surprise, surprise), I think I have an answer.

In my opinion, there are three main reasons to buy local: better service, community involvement, and local profits. I’m sure there are more, but these were the ones I could easily come up with using Metro Car Wash as an example (again, surprise, surprise). I understand we are probably biased, but just the same, I hope the following helps to validate Tucson’s cry when we shout: “Locally owned and operated!” We just can’t help ourselves. We love the sound of it.

Better Service

OK, I’ll say it right away: not every local business offers better service than a large chain. That would be completely unfair to say and a gross generalization. You can get good service anywhere; you can get bad service anywhere. My point is, overall, I do believe there are a few factors that tend to tip the scales in favor of local businesses when it comes to quality of service.

First off, I think a local owner has a better understanding of the immediate market. Every city is different. Economies are dissimilar. Some places are hard on their luck, while a few are booming. Large corporations rely on feedback from outside firms or special divisions within their company to assess the temperature of these markets and to then “fit in” to what the community wants. The local business owner, on the other hand, lives it.

At our car wash, for example, we knew the right time to simplify our menus, to lower our prices, to improve our value – not because of research, but simply from dialogue with customers. Even our use of Facebook and Twitter is more conversational, a two-way street with local consumers. If we expanded beyond Tucson, this would become significantly more difficult to manage, we would lose the intimacy with our customers and as a result have less of an understanding of the market’s wants.

But being local can improve service in more subtle ways too. As an example, I think it can often mean more involved training and enhanced mentoring, each of which can lead to better customer experiences. At Metro, for instance, the owners have weekly meetings with the staff. This setting is more like a classroom; service concepts are taught, homework is given. But even more than this, the owners work with the managers and employees, expectations of how to handle customers are taught by example, by owners on site who know just how important each customer is. Employees pick up on this (they become our friends, in some cases, they feel like family). And the business as a whole improves.

Along these same lines, having an owner’s feet on the property also speeds up customer feedback when it comes to complaints, suggestions, or requests. At Metro, for example, if you want to talk to the owner … you can! You can usually find one of us walking the site. And if you email Metro from the website, it’s an owner that will get back to you, usually within 24 hours.

You just won’t get this from a larger company. Because the truth is, the local owner has more to lose. He or she is waking up every morning with their hard-earned, (personal) savings on the line. That’s real motivation. Pure and simple.

Community Involvement

A lot of large corporations donate big sums of money to good causes, which is certainly something to respect. But just as local ownership means a better understanding of the market, I believe it can also lead to a better understanding of a community’s needs.

Donations to large non-profit organizations are wonderful. But these are also the organizations that have access to large grants and other forms of assistance; these are avenues smaller, local organizations don’t have. The truth is, in economy like ours, it is the local charities and non-profits that are struggling as much as anybody. And local businesses have the best understanding of those needs.

At Metro, we have a great fundraising/community partnership program. I won’t go into details here (they’re available at our website), but suffice to say, we partner with almost twenty local charities, both financially and as volunteers. We award a significant number of Annual Passes every year to local heroes, teachers, and volunteers in Tucson. We’ve established our own scholarship with Pima Community College, sending one local student a year to one full year of schooling at Pima (and we raise money for it by turning our car wash into a haunted theme ride at Halloween). This isn’t to toot our own horn; there are lots of local businesses doing even more. The point is: local businesses feel the community; they understand the city; and they’re better able to serve and give back (to what is most needed). In our opinion, that’s one very strong reason to go local.

Profits Stay Local

I think this one is important. Jobs are jobs, but in a big corporation (not from Tucson), profits do NOT stay local.

When you shop at big box stores, when you eat at chain restaurants, you may be supporting local employment, but the profits are going somewhere else. And profits, dumped back into a local market, can do wonders for our little economy.

Not only this, but local businesses are also more apt to use community banks. And because community banks are also local, the interest they earn stays local too.

At Metro, we not only create jobs for Tucson, but any profits are also kept here. We believe strongly in keeping it local; we bank local, we buy supplies locally. Other car washes, like Simonize, are headquartered on the East Coast. The company Mister Car Wash isn’t even American (it’s Canadian, though their wash offices are in Tucson) and their sources of funding are foreign.

We’re not saying these companies are bad (they are not). But it is a good example of the contrast.

Conclusion

I guess here’s what we’re saying: When you buy local, there is more than meets eye. We’re not advising you to never shop at a big, monster store. The truth is, it’s getting harder not to (as the little guys disappear).

But beyond the character of the local bistro, the neighborhood flower shop, your friend’s car wash (me), there are a lot of other things going on too. Profits are circulated back into Tucson, local charities are identified and helped, employees are cared for on a one-on-one basis, and you, the consumer, begin to receive better personal service in an increasingly bland and generic world.

OK, I told you we were biased. But just so you know, we really do care about you (and your car). And when you think about it, that may be the best reason of all to keep it local.

Thanks for listening folks! Stay clean my friends.

-DJ Drip Dry

Why You Shouldn’t Complain About the Price of A Car Wash (at least not in Tucson)

2011-03-11T06:40:00.000-08:00

OK, so everyone’s pinching pennies these days … we get it. And OK, so everything seems to cost too much for what you actually get … understood. We’re all in the same boat: we’re tired of increasing prices accompanied by decreasing service and quality. It stinks. It isn’t right. And yet it’s prevalent.

Only wait, wait, wait! Let’s not completely jump the gun here. There are some places where your money still purchases real value – where it can go a long way, and where you can really get a bang for your buck. It’s not all doom and gloom out there, really. And while you may find this hard to believe, a professional car wash is one of those purchases (at least in Tucson … and OK, at least at Metro Car Wash).

First of all, I’d like to point out the results of a little research I did. I took a look at what prices have done for various products since the year 2000 (around the time Metro Car Wash just got rolling in the Old Pueblo). The information is eye opening, but it can also give you stomach cramps too. In just 10 years …

The average cost of a movie ticket went from $5.39 to $7.89 (an increase of 46%).

The average cost of gas increased by 70% per gallon.

The average price of eggs increased by over $1.50 per dozen (who knew chickens had this type of bargaining power?).

The price of milk increased by 11%, a US stamp by 33%, and coffee and tea by 100%.

What makes matters even worse, is that the Median Household Income only increased by 26% in that same time (making these prices even more expensive on a relative basis).

Not news to jump for joy about, obviously. Actually, rather depressing. The kind of thing that might really be a buzz kill … unless, of course, you spend money at Metro Car Wash (you just knew I’d get back to this).

Since 2000, here’s what we’ve done:

The price of our Express Wash (exterior only) is still $3.99. In 10 years, it hasn’t changed one single bit.

The price of our Uptown Metro Wash (your car cleaned inside and out, tire shine, clear coat protection, etc.) has gone from $17.99 to $12.99, a decrease of 28%.

And the average price of a Metro Detail is now $35, down 22% from where it was 10 years ago!

And to be fair: most of the other car washes in town have kept their prices low too. As a Tucson service, getting a car wash is cheap. It’s cheap compared to other places in the country and it’s cheap compared to prices of 10 years ago (something that is rather amazing when one considers increases in Minimum Wage, power costs and utility costs).

Put simply, a car wash is a great value.

OK, you say, But I still need to pinch pennies, and a car wash isn’t necessary.

In defense of this, I’ve already written a blog about why washing your car is important (you can link to it here), including protecting the resale value of your auto investment. But assuming you understand that keeping your car clean is actually important (like brushing your teeth and washing your clothes), you might be inclined to say you can still do it yourself (and save money).

Here’s what we have to say to that:

The average time that it takes for a person to wash their car in their driveway is between 1 to 1 ½ hours. It should also be noted that this task is most often undertaken when you have 1 to 1 ½ hours of free time, like the weekend (which means this is 1 to 1 ½ hours of your precious weekend not spent playing with the kids, watching the game, or golfing).

At Metro Car Wash, our Uptown Metro Wash takes 15 to 20 minutes and we offer free coffee and free Wi-Fi while you wait (free coffee, even though its price has increased by 100%!). Not only this, but you’ll be getting specially formulated soap and wax that protects your paint, something you aren’t getting in your driveway (unless you spend more time and money).

Additionally, the average driveway washer uses 77 gallons of water to wash a single car (hard to believe, I know. But true). The average professional car wash, on the other hand, uses almost half of that (approximately 45 gallons per car). And at Metro, we actually recycle this water and use it to irrigate landscaping and wash more cars.

So, this is good news, right? At least we like to think it is.

Sometimes its good to step back and think about the value in the products you buy, to slap yourself on the back for not wasting money and being a savvy buyer. And if you’re a user of a professional car wash, then slap yourself on the back again because:

You’re maintaining the resale value of your investment, while looking good at the same time; you’re doing this while spending at levels less than ten years ago; and you’re managing to save time and the environment simultaneously.

How can that not be a valuable purchase?

Feel good about your purchase, folks. And stay clean my friends!

--DJ DripDry

Be Aware of Check Fraud

2011-02-16T16:35:00.000-08:00

I’m writing something a little different this week, but I think it’s worth discussing.

At the outset of establishing this blog, we said we wanted this to be a place for us to communicate with our customers as well as Tucson in general. We said we wanted to discuss our business honestly (Metro Car Wash), as well as our customers, our community, and the interesting stories that might come from a group of individuals that love to wash cars under the desert sun.

Unfortunately, not all those stories are good ones. This is one of the bad ones.

This past week, Metro Car Wash had the very unpleasant experience of being a victim of Check Fraud (we got robbed of over $4,000). Ugly as it was, I thought it might be good to share our story. Once you understand what these crooks are doing, you might be shocked to find out just how vulnerable all of us (businesses and individuals) actually are to this form of theft.

Our story started off when we got a call from our local bank letting us know that our Petty Cash Account was overdrawn. This was quite a surprise. In addition to being a good car wash, we’re pretty good at keeping our books clean too. You can imagine my shock, then, when I went on-line and saw a negative balance of $3,000 (I’ll let you imagine the words that were spoken/shouted while my heart rate exploded and I pounded my fists on the table).

After my eyes rolled back into focus and my breath became manageable again, I noticed that there were four checks debited from my account that I didn’t remember writing. I clicked “view” and discovered why I didn’t remember writing them: I didn’t.

The checks weren’t Metro’s actual checks. They were generic business checks with the name Metro Car Wash on the top, but the wrong address underneath. The banking information on the bottom of the checks (the routing and account numbers) were also ours, but the names of the individuals the checks were written to were no one we knew. Furthermore, the check was signed by Pete Carroll (yup, the same name as the current coach of the Seattle Seahawks … I doubted it was the actual guy); in other words: not an authorized signer. I looked on the back of the check copies; all of the checks had been cashed at approximately the same time.

Since then, I’ve spent my time closing bank accounts, reconciling accounts, filing police reports, and generally walking around in a lousy mood. Oh, and I’ve learned how easy it is for someone to do this.

Here’s the skinny:

All someone needs to rob you is a copy of your check, a computer, and a printer.

Do you write payroll checks? Do you write checks to vendors? The pizza delivery guy?

Then your account number and routing number are out there.

All someone has to do is write these numbers down and take them home. Then, in front of their computer, they can actually download Check Writing Software for free. They place business checks they purchased at an office supply store into their printer, they input their name and the dollar amount they believe they deserve (typically a reasonable paycheck amount so as to not draw attention), and press: PRINT.

The check is made out to them, so they don’t have a problem cashing it; they show their real ID, collect their money (your money) and take their sweetie out for a nice dinner courtesy of you (they at least hopefully toast you for your generosity).

It’s as simple as that. I wish I was kidding.

And here’s the really disturbing thing: my bank didn’t even bother to press charges. They actually told me not waste my time either (I didn’t listen to their advice). They said this happens all the time. It is what it is in the banking world I guess.

So, OK … what do you do now? How do you protect yourself?

The truth is, depending on your bank, you may not be able to. Larger banks, like Chase, have some interesting on-line Fraud Protection Tools they’ve just rolled out, but smaller banks still rely on the chance of noticing when signatures don’t match (you can see how well that worked for us).

My bank told me: you should review your accounts every day.

The detective I’m working with gave me this advice: Don’t write checks. He was serious.

We’re now looking at switching our payroll to debit cards (rather than cutting checks).

I guess I don’t have a happy ending to this story, but I do hope it helps some of you avoid what happened to us. It’s a scary world out there and I’d like to think we can use tools like this blog to help each other out.

Until next time, stay clean my friends (and keep an eye on your check balance). Oh, and if you see a suspicious looking thug toasting a glass of Champagne and thanking Metro for his bonus, please let us know!

-DJ DripDry

Metro Car Wash's Honor Roll

2011-02-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the delay in posting, folks. Yours truly has been a bit busy wrapping up the year.

Now that things have settled down a bit, however, I’m happy to use our Metro Car Wash Blog to announce the recipients of our Annual Metro Honor Roll.

Every year, we ask our Community Partners (the organizations we raise money for), as well as our customers, to nominate individuals who are making selfless efforts to positively impact Tucson. As a local business involved in the community, we really value, not only our city’s charitable establishments, but the people inside of these organizations who donate their time and efforts to assure Tucson is a better place.

All Metro Honor Roll Recipients receive a Metro Honor Roll Card that entitles them to unlimited FREE Uptown washes for the entire 2011 calendar year. It may not be as prestigious as a heavy plaque, a picture in the paper, or keys to the city, but it is our way of saying Thank You to a group of people who deserve a little extra recognition.

This year’s Honor Roll Recipients include the following:

Lisa Antkow. Lisa works with Tu Nidito, a Tucson agency that provides individual and group support to children and their families as they deal with serious illness and death. Lisa’s coworkers nominated her because of her maturity, responsibility, and dedication in interacting positively with children who are going through one of the toughest times of their lives.

Sloan Boatman. Sloan has been a volunteer with The American Diabetes Association in Tucson for years, donating her time in both the back office and fundraising events. She is passionate in regards to educating the public about how to stop diabetes, as well as how to support those living with the disease.

Terri Smith. Terri has been involved with the American Lung Association for a year and half now. A lung cancer survivor herself, Terri single-handedly raised over $3000 in last year’s “Fight for Air” Walk, started a Lung Cancer Support Group to emotionally encourage those going through lung cancer treatment, and began speaking to community groups to increase awareness for lung cancer screening, prevention and research.

Jared Ross. Jared is a faithful TROT volunteer of more than 10 years. T.R.O.T. (Therapeutic Riding of Tucson) helps those with special needs by using therapeutic equine programs to improve physical, mental, and social well-being. Jared volunteers weekly; his commitment is immensely appreciated by both the TROT staff and those receiving the therapy.

Alexandra “Ally” Rae Pesqueira. Ally is a volunteer with Tucson’s Children’s Advocacy Center, an organization that works within the community to prevent child victimization and abuse. Ally began volunteering while she was a student at the University of Arizona and continued to volunteer after she graduated. Her dedication and compassion are second to none, and she is currently focused on a new project involving the supervision of infant/parent visits in conjunction with CPS.

Mary Garrison-Vincent. Mary is a volunteer with The Shyann Kindness Project, an organization whose mission it is to pass on kindness by educating, supporting and encouraging children in stressful economic, social and medical situations. Mary has been an instrumental factor in the charity’s fundraising efforts, donating countless hours of work to assure the success of their events.

Lluvia Creek. Lluvia is a Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson, an organization that pairs adult mentors with children to provide underprivileged youth with better guidance and growth opportunities. Lluvia’s co-workers and co-volunteers believe that she embodies what it means to be a Big Sister, staying actively involved in the life of her Little Sister, Maria, dedicating time to fostering the relationship and assuring that the girl has improved life opportunities.

Danny Simone (and Hooch). Danny is a volunteer with Handi-Dogs, a service and therapy dog training organization whose mission is to promote independence, freedom, health and dignity for seniors and people with disabilities through the use of trained dogs. Danny and his dog Hooch are Community Ambassadors and a popular Demonstration Team for Handi-Dog. As well, Danny donates his time to Delta Society Pet Partners, Gabriel’s Angels, Pets for Vets, and does Animal Assisted Therapy at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Diana Cordera. Diana is a Family Support Specialist at Parent Aid, a child abuse prevention center. Diana works personally with families in order to strengthen familial bonds and prevent child abuse. She is always on call and available for the individuals she works with, additionally, she leads the training of all Family Support Specialists.

Lois Weimuth. Lois has been a volunteer with the Southern Arizona Humane Society since 2003. To date, she has logged over 3,500 hours working as an Adoption Lobby Greeter, a customer support representative in both dog and cat rooms, and an assistant in off-site adoptions. She is dedicated to improving the lives of animals and alleviating their suffering by helping to rescue, shelter, heal, and adopt animals in need.

J. Scott McManus. Mr. McManus is a long-time volunteer at SAAF (an organization that provides case management and ancillary support services for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families); he volunteers at the food bank, on telephone help lines and with Care Services and Prevention Programs (within SAAF). His co-workers and co-volunteers claim that his courage and personal strength help to empower those around him and that he has been a tremendous encouragement to others.

Metro Car Wash wants to thank and recognize each of these individuals. We look forward to meeting them and getting to know them better over the upcoming year.

And who knows, maybe you’ll run into one of them on your next visit to Metro. If you do, hopefully this blog will have given you a little extra insight into just how generous some of our fellow citizens are.

Until next time, stay clean my friends.

-DJ DripDry

Why You Should Fit a Car Wash Into Your Schedule

2010-12-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Let’s face it: washing your car is a chore. And that’s true even if you don’t do it yourself; even if you use a professional car wash like Metro. You still have to pull out of traffic. You still have to get out of your car, worry about collecting valuables, sort through envelopes and receipts that may or may not be garbage, and then lose 20 minutes of your life you’ll never gain back. I get it. Not as fun as a swingin’ costume party. Not as relaxing as watching the big game on your couch.

But I’d like to make a case for penciling us into your life anyway. And I think you might find it easier (and more affordable and more relaxing) than you think.

First off, then, let’s answer this question: Why should you regularly wash your car?

Here’s Metro’s answer to that question:

1. Investment protection. Here in Tucson, our vehicles are exposed to heat, acid rain, bugs, bird droppings, baked on break dust, and more than 30 other contaminants – some invisible to the naked eye. Without regular washing, these elements can cause serious, even irreparable, damage to your car’s paint, clear coat, and wheels. For most of us, our vehicles are one of our biggest investments. And washing your car means helping to keep your resale value up. You know those dull, spotted, rough-looking cars you see on the road that look like they’ve been hit by lightning? All non-washers. Every last one of them.

2. Personal Well-Being. It may sound strange, but it’s true. Just like a clean home or an organized office, a clean, uncluttered, freshly washed car will make you feel amazingly better (and you’ll probably think your car even runs better). Most of us can’t afford maid service (and it’s awfully hard to keep your office neat and organized), but swinging into a car wash on a regular basis is one cheap and easy way to sprinkle a little mojo back into your life. Since you spend so much time in the car, why not improve the quality of your life by at least having this area clean, maintained and smelling fresh. You’ll be surprised by how much better you’ll feel.

3. We’re cool guys. Regularly washing your car at Metro Car Wash means regularly hanging out with us, the Metro Team, even if it’s only for a few minutes. And let’s face it, we’re about as good for your soul as it gets.

Now that I’ve hopefully convinced you to consider washing your car regularly, I’d next like to suggest that you actually schedule us into your week (or your month).

Washing your car is like any task you don’t have to do – it’s easy to procrastinate. We all fill up with gas because if we don’t, we’ll be stranded on the side of the road. But tasks like oil changes, car washes, and trips to the dentist are areas we tend to let slide. And the best way to avoid this is to simply put Metro into your regular schedule. Pick a day of the week, for example (perhaps your least hectic), and make it a habit of visiting us on your lunch break or on your way home from work. If it becomes part of what you do, it no longer feels like a chore. Rather, it will become that one little thing you do for yourself that makes you feel good, adds a crisp organization to your life, and also makes you feel very sensible and grown up for being so responsible for taking care of your investment (we’ve studied this extensively and know it to be true).

And finally, I’d like to point how little this will actually cost you.

Let’s say you decided to visit us weekly (we would really like this). And let’s say you don’t need to get the inside of your car cleaned every week, so you decided to rotate between and Express Wash (just the outside) and a Full Service Wash (inside and outside) every other time. Additionally, let’s say you decide to join our VIP Club (a frequent washer program) that gives you $2 of credit every time you purchase a full service car wash, meaning that a full service wash will only cost you $6.99.

Quick math shows the following: Express Wash $3.99. Discounted Full Service Wash $6.99. Average weekly cost of keeping your car clean at Metro Car Wash: $5.49.

Yup. So let’s think about this. For less than $6.00 per week, you can:

• Maintain your investment and make your father proud,
• Have a shiny car in the parking lot at your place of work (which speaks volumes about how “together” you actually are,
• Keep a space in your life (where you spend a lot of time) clean and organized, which accomplishes just as much as visiting a therapist, and
• Look good as you drive down Tucson streets, the sun flashing off your shiny paint job and sparkling teeth.

I hope I’ve convinced you how important (and easy) it is to fit us into your schedule. So as you start contemplating your New Year’s Resolutions, perhaps you’ll keep Metro Car Wash in mind.

Until next time, stay clean my friends!

-DJ DripDry

Why We Think Our Honor Roll Is Important

2010-12-01T06:25:00.000-08:00

For the most part, the media is filled with lousy news stories. I’m not saying that many of these reports aren’t important, but let’s face it: 90% of what’s coming at us is covering rather depressing topics (wars, invasive body scans, skidding economies, arrested starlets in Vegas … the list goes on). So you’d think when a good story came along – something maybe a little uplifting – the news might want to grab it. Publish something nice for a change.

You’d think.

But in the case of Metro Car Wash’s Honor Roll Program, you’d be wrong.

If you don’t know about our Honor Roll Program, here’s a quick rundown.

First, our car wash works with over 20 Charities and Not-For-Profit organizations in Tucson. It’s called our Community Partnership Program and we’re fairly proud of it. I won’t go into details here (you can get to them by following this link: Metro CPP), but suffice to say it’s a great fundraising opportunity and allows us to discover a lot of exceptional causes, efforts and organizations in the Tucson community.

Last year, we decided it would be a good thing to recognize some of the individuals that volunteered within these organizations – a way to thank them for their services, a way to give them a nod for their efforts (that so often times go unnoticed).

To do this, we created The Metro Car Wash Honor Roll. We asked our participating community partners to give us nominations for individuals who donated time and effort to good causes in Tucson, and then our Company voted on who would make the Honor Roll List. In 2010, twenty-seven individuals made our Honor Roll. Granted, it’s not like winning a Nobel Peace Prize, but its nice just the same. Each honoree received an Honor Roll Card that entitled them to unlimited free car washes at Metro Car Wash for the entire year and their names were posted on our website for recognition.

Oh, and an article was written by a journalist who thought the story was … uplifting.

And you know what? It was a good story.

There were some pretty amazing people we discovered, doing some really great things in Tucson. The story covered individuals like Paula McNellis, who has volunteered at T.R.O.T. (a therapeutic horseback riding program for children and adults with special needs) every Wednesday for 20 years. It told about Missy Weidman, who has worked with over 300 child abuse victims in just the last two years by volunteering at The Southern Arizona Children’s Advocacy Center. It told about Roger Borduin, who provides free plumbing services to low-income families and Jeff Carver, who donated a kidney to a neighbor he hardly knew. The list went on. All Tucson neighbors of ours. All doing things that deserve recognition.

And not one news agency in Tucson picked up the story.

The journalist repeatedly submitted the article to different publications for months. Apparently, there wasn’t ever enough space. Understandable, I guess, since Tiger Woods was catting around, and Taylor Swift was arguing with Kanye West, and Avatar was winning another award, and …

So now it’s almost 2011. And we’re taking nominations for next year’s Honor Roll. I have a feeling that we’re going to hear some more great stories. I think we’re going to be meeting some new inspiring people. And this year, I’ll be blogging about them.

None of these individuals are seeking this recognition, of course. I think that was what was so amazing about the people we met last year – the length of time so many of these individuals went without any recognition. It’s the kind of thing that makes you feel good about humanity again; it’s the type of thing that can inspire you.

Which is why we’d like to tell their stories.

So stay tuned, folks. You can look for the 2011 Honor Roll List in January, as well as a few stories about the honorees. And if you know of someone you’d like to nominate, you’re welcome to do so. Simply go to www.metrocarwash.com and look under “Metro News” to learn how. We’ll be taking nominations through the end of the year.

It may not be as exciting as the front page of MSN, I agree, but it’s also nice to hear a few stories, once in a while, about the good things happening around us.

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. And until next time, stay clean my friends.

-DJ DripDry

How Google Changed Our Car Wash

2010-11-17T07:13:00.000-08:00

This week’s blog is a shout-out to Google.

Understandably, Google doesn’t need any help from Metro Car Wash (they seem to be doing just fine on their own), but I thought that by mentioning some of the ways in which Google has helped our organization, it might also provide some good information for other local Tucson small businesses.

First of all, let me say that Google has done much more for our car wash than just guiding new customers to our door (though they’ve done a great job with that too). Here’s a quick list of just a few of the things we do with Google products and how they’ve benefited us:

(1) We use their FREE office suite (word processing, spreadsheets, powerpoint) and don’t plan on spending money on software upgrades anytime soon. In this economy, the ability to provide all of our employees with this type of software (that used to cost us lots of money) is a significant savings. They made it easy to switch, too, as you can convert any Microsoft document to a Google document with the click of a button.

(2) We use their FREE Google Sites product to host an internal website for our management team. The simple task of creating this site (I am NO software guru and I created it in an afternoon) changed our business more than we ever imagined. Now all of our policies & procedures, financials, HR documents, compliance documents, checklists, and to-do lists are consolidated and accessible simultaneously, by any authorized employee, from any place there is Internet access. Information is shared between locations and in real-time. Managers stay in touch with their stores even from home (and yes, it’s so fun to play with, they do it on their days off).

(3) We use their FREE Blogger product to host this blog you are reading now, allowing us another way to communicate with our Tucson customer base. (4) We use their FREE Google Analytics product to track how many people visit our website and this blog (a lot more than we thought, btw), as well as what key words were used in their search to find the same (allowing us to refine our marketing efforts).

(5) We use their FREE Gmail product (email and calendar), so that all of our employees can stay in touch with management, schedules, and announcements better.

(6) We use their FREE Google Places product to enhance our Company Listing when people find us in their Google search. We offer coupons, list hours of operation, mention specials, and respond to Customer Reviews (We’ve also petitioned our loyal customers to leave reviews about us on Google, which they have, which has significantly improved our visibility on the web).

(7) We use their Google Checkout product to now sell gift cards on-line (i.e. through Google you can set up e-commerce on your website without breaking sweat).

(8) Finally, we’ve transitioned all of our managers to Android phones so that all of what I’ve just mentioned above is also available on mobile devices.

That’s a fairly impressive list, especially since the word FREE was used in just about every other sentence. Sometimes, its a wonder Google actually makes money at all (don’t worry, their earnings are staggeringly healthy).

But along those lines, there’s one more thing Google helped us with: inspiration.

The more we used free Google products and the more we sang their praises (I’m giving them some pretty good word-of-mouth advertising right now), the more we wanted to model our car wash business after them. Silly, I know, since car washing and the search engine business are a little more than miles apart. But true just the same.

We took our inspiration in three areas: their innovation, the simplicity of their products, and most of all the VALUE in what they were delivering to the consumer. In today’s economy, where everyone wants you to spend more, while delivering less, Google is the freshest of breezes.

And so in 2010, we launched Metro 2.0. It was our effort at improving our business and offering a new version of our services to Tucson. We simplified our menus, cut prices to true value levels, created simple services that customers really wanted, and assured that all could be delivered in the same timely manner. Our motto became “Simple. Fast. Value.” And the truth is, it really worked. Business is up. Customers are happier. And our managers and employees are having more fun washing cars. It may not be a high-tech campus with soaring stock options, but I think you get the point.

So … “Thank You” Google. Thanks for truly being there for small businesses, as well as the big guys. And thanks for being such a great example to this little car wash company. Much appreciated.

As for you readers, if you haven’t checked out Google as a low cost option for your business, you may want to take a look (everything is accessible to you once you sign up for a Free Gmail account at www.google.com). And if you have questions, feel free to ask me. Stop by, get a wash, and I’ll be glad to show you first-hand how we’re utilizing all of these tools.

Until next time, stay clean my friends!

--Dj DripDry

Zombie Car Wash 2010

2010-11-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

Let me start by telling you how it ended:

Metro’s Zombie Walk 2010 ended on Saturday night at 10:00 PM with about 30 volunteers dancing the Cupid (Cuban) Shuffle on the front drive of the Speedway Car Wash. It was a great (and appropriate) way to close out 5 days of an Event that seemed to have surpassed everyone’s expectations.

If you didn’t get a chance to stop by, let me say that the reviews we received were exceptional. I don’t think anyone anticipated the effort we put in, turning our car wash into a haunted-house-zombie-themed-ride. Those that did come said things like: “really amazing,” “so much more than I expected,” “too cool,” and “better than other haunted houses in town.” I’m not bragging here. I just want everyone to know that they missed out on something fun and entertaining so that they’ll be sure to come next year. After all, it’s not everyday that you get to combine the classic past-time of washing your car with a classic horror movie like George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (it was playing on the side of the building like a drive-in theatre, incidentally).

But the customers weren’t the only ones who had their expectations exceeded; yours truly did as well. And more than this, I can honestly say that I’m speechless with gratitude and pride at the Metro Car Wash Employees, Sahuaro High School Students, and participating businesses who sacrificed their time and services to make this Event a success.

Like any new project, we really didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into. We have a scholarship; we needed to raise money for it; and a Zombie Car Wash for Halloween seemed like a good idea. But once we began planning and designing and constructing, it became apparent just how large of a task we were faced with. We needed 40 volunteers per night for 5 nights; we needed help in getting the word out about the Event; and we needed supplies and props for the sets. And wherever there was a need, people came through in a big way.

So this week’s blog is more or less a Thank You. It’s a Thank You to all of the Students at Sahauro High School who listened to their teacher, Mr. Harkin, and gave up their plans night upon night to dress up like zombie’s and scare Tucson. It’s a thanks to my employees like Adam Villalobos, Juan Arellano, Melanie Romero, Gwen Valenzuela, Chris Hopper, Steven Hopper, Jacob Bacinski, Gabbi DeJesus, Izzy Lopez, Lorenzo Tambriz, Alex Ortiz-Uribe, and many more who not only worked all day at the car wash, but stayed on into the night to deliver a great show, help clean up, get no sleep, and go back at it again the next day. It’s also a Thanks to the volunteers like Ivan Nieto, Amanda Anyaeji, Josie at the Job Corps, and Les and Sarah Henson who aren’t employees or high school students, but felt that raising money to put a deserving kid through a year of college was a worthy enough cause to give up their personal nights and dress like road kill.

It’s also a big thanks to the businesses that helped us out.

Thanks to Heat Wave Productions and Joey Velasquez for DJ-ing nightly. You kept the party going, spirits high, and got zombies to dance … not an easy task (Metro Car Wash highly recommends Heat Wave’s services for any occasion, btw; you can contact them directly at 520-519-9379).

Thanks to Gary and Judy Tenen at Alphagraphics CPS for donating the 4,000 flyers that were dropped all over Tucson. Thanks to Sue Callahan at SignAge for donating the posters. And thanks to Julie Rustad at 24-7 Creative Solutions for designing such a great marketing piece to begin with.

Thanks to Tucson Weekly, the Arizona Daily Star, and Tucson Night Out for getting the Event coverage and helping to bring in more customers. And thanks to Jo Ann Mesa for volunteering to help contacting the same (your efforts were much appreciated).

I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of people deserving of thanks. I apologize in advance.

Like anything that takes a lot of effort, this was exhausting and I’m glad to say it’s over. But more importantly, I’m glad to know we raised enough money to put our first student through a year at Pima Community College next year. And more than this, I’m glad to know there are so many people in Tucson generous enough with their time and money to make something like this a reality.

I’m all zombied out folks, so until next time … stay clean my friends.

--DJ DripDry

We’re Doing Something Important

2010-10-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

Next week, Metro Car Wash is heading into unchartered waters. We’re hosting a Zombie Car Wash to raise money for our Scholarship Fund, and we’re a little scared.

We’re not afraid of zombies (they’re not real), but we are afraid of a lot of other things: Do we have enough volunteers? Have we built the sets well enough? Have we marketed the Event properly? Will people actually show up?

These are the things that are haunting us.

Even if you don’t like zombies and haunted houses (and I know that some of you don’t), I hope you’ll at least read this blog to get an understanding of what it is we’re trying to do.

First of all, we’re raising money for our Scholarship. Our Company is sincere when we say that we value education. And because of the type of work we employee, we too often see talented, smart young people who just aren’t going to get the same career opportunities as others because, simply, they didn’t have the funds or the resources to attend college.

In our opinion, that’s just really sad. And because we believe that in a free market economy it is a privilege to own a business, and that furthermore there is a responsibility to the community that accompanies that privilege, we have gone about setting up a Scholarship Fund that we hope can significantly and positively impact the lives of kids that might not otherwise have the opportunity to get a higher education.

You can find out more about our Scholarship through our website www.metrocarwash.com. But suffice to say that the money we are raising at this Zombie Wash Event will be helping us send a minimum of one high school student through one full year at Pima Community College in 2011; if we can raise enough funds, we will send additional students.

Fundraisers are always difficult things to manage. Even when the cause is good, you’re ultimately asking people for money. And in this economy that’s just not an easy thing to do. You hope that whatever Event you put on, therefore, has enough appeal and value to make parting with that money a little less painful.

I’d like believe our Zombie Wash fits that bill. First of all, you will be receiving a professional car wash from Metro, Tucson’s favorite and friendliest car wash. In addition, you’ll be getting your fix on a Halloween scare. We’re coordinating over 40 volunteers (who have been kind enough to spend five nights in zombie attire) to interact with customers and cars as only zombie’s can: by attempting to eat them.

We have literally spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours preparing for this. We had donations of props and sets and gift certificates from countless participating businesses (a big thanks to AlphaGraphics, 24-7 Creative Solutions, Sign-Age, Bob’s Enterprises, and others). And we’re pretty excited about what we’ve come up with.

A lot of the volunteers are high school students … some of the same high school students who will be applying for the Scholarship they’re raising money for. There’s a really good spirit among the volunteers; it feels good to be doing something positive in a time when the news, in general, is so negative.

We’re asking for $10 for each car for a trip through The Zombie Wash, but you can of course fit as many people into the car as you please.

We’ve worked hard. We’re hoping for a good turnout. And this is my personal request that, even if you can’t attend (or don’t agree with zombies in general), that you’ll understand what we’re trying to do and that you’ll tell others about the Event.

We’d love to see you there. And of course, look for me. DJ DripDry will be in full zombie regalia.

Until later, stay clean my friends.

--DJ DripDry

Meet a Metro Customer

2010-10-16T04:33:00.000-07:00

I mentioned several weeks ago that we were going to begin periodically blogging about a few of our favorite customers. We always said that our Metro Car Wash Blog was not going to be about washing cars, but rather about people, our Tucson community, and the stories we come across. It seems fitting then, that Sherry Elliott would be the first that we write about. She’s been a loyal customer of Metro’s since 2003 and she’s someone we count lucky to know.

First of all, Sherry is just a very friendly and fun person. Most of the time, we don’t get to know our customers on a personal level (we like to remember names and faces, but at the end of the day, we are viewed by most people as simply a car wash). With Sherry, however, things were different. Besides the fact that she’s got a smile and a personality that make you feel (almost instantly) as if you’ve been long-time friends, Sherry also made us feel as if she was making us a partner with her in her business venture.

Sherry is a personal chef and a custom caterer, and she believes her vehicles (which she uses for deliveries and errands) need to reflect that she’s clean, neat, professional, and efficient. She uses Metro - for which we’re very proud - but even more impressive to me is how many of our employees have come to know her personally and how much pride these same employees take in making sure she looks good out on the road. This is impressive because it’s not something our Company did; it’s something Sherry was able to do with a friendly, gracious and open attitude to all of our employees. When Sherry comes by for a wash, it’s not uncommon to see her receive multiple hugs from our employees while she waits for her car.

Sherry started her own business over seven years ago. She’d been working in communications and sales for large companies and she’d become tired of the corporate life. She was a self-taught chef with a passion for cooking, teaching and making people smile, and so in 2003 she decided to combine them all into her own business venture and head out on her own.

Today, CookingSherry, LLC is a very interesting business that we hope more people will take the time to learn about and try. There are three main services that CookingSherry provides: Custom Catering, Chocolate Fountain Rentals, and a Personal Chef Service.

Sherry’s goal, when she began her business, was to be able to create an economical cooking service for individuals and families who were too busy to cook great meals at home, but who never considered that they could afford a Personal Chef.

With CookingSherry, however, the product and service you receive is simply an incredible value. First, Sherry will personally sit down with you in your home to review what types of meals your family enjoys (as well as dietary restrictions and taste preferences). She then goes to the store for you, does your grocery shopping, and returns to your kitchen to prepare 5 different custom meals which are then frozen until you are ready to use them (oh, and she cleans up the kitchen too). Each meal can be served twice, so one visit from the CookingSherry equates to 10 custom homemade meals for you and your family. Prices vary upon family size, but the cost is refreshingly inexpensive. And the food? Well, it’s healthy, fresh and delicious.

In addition to the Personal Chef Service, CookingSherry also offers custom catering from parties of 2 -200. For parties of two, she can deliver a romantic dinner to your door, or if you prefer, she can cook one for you in your home (if you’d like to pretend that you actually whipped up something yourself).

Finally, she also offers Chocolate Fountain Rentals. These fountains of chocolate goodness are pretty amazing and impressive. They’re perfect for weddings or holiday parties … or car washes. We’re actually trying to get one into our lobby this Christmas for our scholarship benefit.

Like most businesses, of course, the economy has been hard on Sherry. She’s struggled and is working hard to keep her dream going. Because business is slow, she’s actually taken on a part-time job to help pay the bills and her staff has all been moved to part-time help. But she’s not giving up.

When I sat down to interview Sherry, I was struck by how genuine and passionate she was. She says good food makes people happy, and she is intent on sticking to her vision of providing her products and services at a value price that the Tucson public can afford. Not only this, but she’s dedicated to delivering friendly and responsive customer service every day. She gets to know her clients, returns calls immediately, and works on her feet 15 hours a day. She was the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Member of the Year 2006. And in the long-term, Sherry has the further dream of creating a local Cooking School for children.

Oh, and in her free time she likes riding motorcycles, too. Yup. She has a 2007 Harley Sportster and belongs to a motorcycle club. Just in case you thought you had her all figured out.

All of the pricing for CookingSherry’s services can be found on her website at www.cookingsherry.net. If you’d like to reach her, you can do so at sherry@cookingsherry.net or by calling directly at 520-631-5201. (I've included a picture of one of her chocolate fountains below.)

We hope you’ll take the time to check the business out. If nothing else, she’s a great person to meet and know. At Metro, we’re very glad she stopped in some seven years ago and allowed us to get to know her.

Thanks for staying tuned, folks. And until next time, stay clean my friends.

-DJ DripDry

Why We Love the Way the Internet is Changing Our Business

2010-10-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Over the next few months, you can expect to see a few interviews posted on this blog. We’re sitting down with some of our favorite customers and finding out a little bit more about them personally – about their careers or the businesses they own, about their hobbies, and of course why they like Metro Car Wash.

When we set out to write this blog, we always said we wanted it to be different. We wanted it to be a local business’s perspective on its customers, its employees, and Tucson in general. There are actually quite a few people reading this blog now, and so we realized that this might be a good way to help out some of our customers too … to get them a little publicity so to speak.

It got me thinking about how it’s just one more example of how the Internet is changing our business for the better. More specifically, I think it is an example of how technology is actually bringing our business much closer to our customers and our community. And that’s a little ironic, because I think most people thought that technology and the Internet was actually going to be cold and impersonal.

A lot of credit has to be given to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, of course. But regardless, the new social aspect to the Internet is fundamentally changing business, customer service, and most importantly customer communication.

I suppose our own business is a great example of this. Who would have thought that a car wash in Tucson could benefit significantly from the Internet? But we are.

First of all, we love Facebook. Through Facebook, we’ve been able to begin conversing with our customers in a manner we never dreamed of in the past. It’s great to hear the nice comments when a Fan had a good experience. But it’s also a great place for our good customers to also leave us feedback. Did we miss something on your car? Did your service take too long? These are things we need to know, and we appreciate the remarks. As an example, several months ago we asked our Fans to submit suggestions so that we could make our business better. And the truth is: we were blown away by all the good ideas. We’ve implemented several of them already and are still working to implement others. How cool is it to be building a business where your customers have the capability to provide such input?

And of course it’s more than just Facebook. We are continually working to make our website better. At www.metrocarwash.com you can download coupons, read about our business, and purchase Gift Cards. But more and more, we’re finding it’s also being used as a tool to communicate our involvement in the community. High school students can now apply on-line for the Metro Scholarship, you can volunteer to help us out with our Zombie Wash fundraiser, or you can research what other charities and not-for-profit organizations we’re partnering with.

If I sound excited, it’s because I am. I’m anxious to see where this new interaction with our customers will bring us. And of course, we’re hoping for your involvement too.

Are you a customer that might want to be interviewed for our blog? Let us know. Do you have a suggestion or a comment about our service? Send us an email or post it on our wall in Facebook. Know any high school students who could benefit from Metro Car Wash picking up the tab on their first year at Pima? Direct them to our website and our Scholarship page.

The Internet and social media is changing things rapidly. And at Metro, we just don’t want to be left behind. More specifically, we’re hoping that by keeping pace, we’re going to get to know our customers a whole lot better. And who knows, we may even make some true friends along the way.

Stay clean my friends. And until next time, this is DJ DripDry signing off.

Does A Bad Economy = Forgetting How To Work?

2010-10-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

There’s been some good news, of late, coming out about our economy. Nothing earth-shattering, but we’re hearing that the Recession has (officially) ended and that people are starting to spend a little more money. Put another way, experts are saying they may be feeling a pulse.

And in Tucson, I think we’re beginning to feel that pulse a little as well. The streets are more crowded, restaurants seem busier, and at Metro Car Wash we’re beginning to see more and more of our customers. That’s all good news and makes me very happy.

Then my wife made the following comment the other day: “Have you noticed how bad the service in Tucson seems to be lately?”

I thought about what she said, and then had to agree with her. We began discussing how our last few restaurant outings had been less than stellar (at places where we normally receive great service); we mentioned the lack of help and assistance we’d received in the last few retail stores we’d been to. My wife scratched her head and then made this suggestion: “Do you think that in this bad economy, people have just forgotten how to work?”

On the surface, it seems like maybe a silly statement. But the truth is: I think she might be right. I know this, because at our car wash, we actually have a real-life example of this phenomenon every year; we call it our Post-Monsoon Slump.

For most of the year, Metro Car Wash is a pretty hoppin’ place. Each of our locations washes around 300 to 400 cars each day. And for the most part, we do it without breaking too much of sweat (figuratively speaking of course, because actually, it’s a very sweaty job). We process cars quickly, our systems flow, and the employees do their jobs efficiently and effectively. But then the monsoons come. Every July, August and September our car counts literally get cut in half as customers stop washing their vehicles in anticipation of the next rain storm. It’s understandable, really. And there’s nothing we can do about it.

But here’s the interesting thing: In the first month of monsoons, our employees go crazy with frustration at the lack of work available. They hustle through their tasks like they’ve been trained to do, but then find that there isn’t another car in line to work on. They get bored. They tell me it feels like the days last longer. They miss all the cars; they miss the fast pace, the high-demand, and the excitement. But that attitude only lasts for a while. By September, their perspectives have changed. Instead of being frustrated, they’ve acclimated to the new (slow) pace of business. They don’t notice that we don’t wash many cars. And they don’t realize that their hustle is gone. They don’t realize, that is, until the sun comes out and all of Tucson decides to get their car washed.

This is literally something we prepare for every year: motivating our employees to find the spring in their step that they may have lost over the summer. We don’t get frustrated, we just remind our managers that they’re going to have an extra challenge in getting everyone back up to speed.

And so I wonder if this bad economy isn’t having the same effect on businesses everywhere. We have slowed down; there haven’t been as many customers; restaurants and retail stores are less crowded. And it’s human nature to adapt to these new environments.

But if the economy is starting to turn the other way—if we’re going to see people pulling out their wallets again and filling up our stores and eateries—then as managers and business owners we also need to be aware that our employees might have forgotten how to meet that demand. It doesn’t mean they’re bad employees. It simply means that they’ve grown accustomed to a slower work pace. And it’s our job to identify that. Furthermore, it’s our job to provide the proper motivation to get them back into high-performance mode. Because the truth is: when demand rises, if a business isn’t prepared to catch it with consistent service, they’re in big trouble. Using the excuse “we’re really busy” for poor quality or poor customer service is about the lamest excuse out there. It says you’ve stumbled into success and that you’re surprised by it, because you’re really not that good.

So let’s hope this economy is feeling the first pulse of heartbeat. Let’s hope it is getting back on its feet. And while we’re at it, let’s hope that businesses and their workforce rise to meet the new demand with energy and great customer service. In the end, I suppose, that’s the American Way.

Until next time, stay clean my friends.

-DJ DripDry

A Guide to Washing Your Car

2010-09-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

Being in this business, I take for granted that everyone understands why they need to wash their cars (as well as why they should wash them at a professional facility and what services they need to purchase when they stop in). Then I talk to a few customers and realize I’m completely wrong.

It makes sense, really. The topic of “car washing” is not one of those exciting discussions that seem to generate buzz around the water cooler (like, say, Lindsay Lohan’s latest escapades, government healthcare, the NFL weekend, or Jonathan Franzen’s newest novel). But still, we “car dudes” have feelings too. And since we’re passionate about the importance of our business, I thought I’d take this opportunity to briefly give you some information on (1) why you should wash your car, (2) why you should use a professional car wash, and (3) what services you should select on your next visit. It won’t be too painful, I promise. And you really might learn something.

First, let’s address why you should wash your car. The truth is: it’s more than just about looking good. Aside from the fact that a clean car says a ton about your image (that it greatly enhances your sex appeal and that it will more than likely help you get promoted in your career), it really is a low cost form of auto maintenance that will prolong the life of your car.

In most basic terms, there are just a lot of things out there, every day, that are degrading your vehicle’s paint. Bird droppings contain acid that burns through your clear coat and causes damage that can’t be repaired; brake dust actually eats into your wheels and then becomes baked-on in the heat; road oils and other pollutants can permanently dull your car’s color if allowed to sit for extended periods of time. It’s all much uglier than most people realize. And by simply regularly washing your car, you can remove these factors and insure that the look of your car will stay bright and protected for a long, long time. And that can mean more money to you at trade-in, or when you decide to sell it.

Next, there are also a lot of good reasons why you should wash at a professional car care facility (we personally believe Metro Car Wash is the best, but any of them are better than washing at home).

Now it’s possible, of course, that you have nothing better to do with your weekend than wash your car in your driveway. You’re someone who hates to go to a barbeque, you dislike sports of any kind, you detest kicking up your feet and drinking iced tea or beer, you shutter at the thought of relaxing in a pool, and you feel that two hours of your time under the beating sun is the perfect way to spend the precious moments away from your boss. But even still … you shouldn’t do it.

There are two basic reasons professional car washes are better than your driveway. First, when you wash in your driveway, the run-off goes into the storm drains, which does not go to a sanitation plant. The soaps you use, as well as the oils, brake dust and pollutants you remove, get washed into the lakes and rivers and the general environment. At a professional car wash, this polluted water runs through a sanitary sewer system and is ultimately processed in a sanitation plant. Second, by using a professional car wash, you’re saving a lot of water. Studies have shown that washing an average car, with a typical garden hose, will use about 116 gallons of water (seriously). An average full-service car wash, however, will only use about 40 – 60 gallons for every car (at Metro in Tucson, we can get lower than this due to our use of reclaim water). So think of it this way: using a professional car wash is actually your duty as a respectable member of society!

Finally, let’s discuss what service you should get the next time you come in.

Of course, every time you pull onto a car wash lot, a salesperson is going to try to sell you something expensive. But the truth is: there are times you need to spend the extra money, and there are times you don’t.

The question we get asked the most is: How often should I wax my car? And the answer is: it depends.

The sun’s UV rays are a major source of damage to your vehicle’s paint. And on newer cars, they’re now using less paint and less clear coat (to save cost), which means less paint protection. In other words, the more your car is out in the sun, the more you need to wax your car.

If you’re lucky enough to have covered parking throughout the day, then you may only need to wax your car every 4 -5 months. If your car is out in the sun all day, however, we suggest you get a wax at least every 3 months.

And one more point while we’re on this subject. If you regularly wash your car (2x per month) and regularly upgrade to a package wash with spray-on paint protection (like our Metro Wash), then you can also prolong the time between spending money on a complete wax.

So keep track of when you purchase, as well as what you purchase. And don’t get talked into something that you just don’t need.

Hope this information helps. Hope you haven’t been bored to tears.

Until next time, stay clean my friends!

--DJ DripDry

Meet a Metro Employee

2010-09-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

When we started this blog, we said we wanted it to be different. We didn’t want to blog about car care, or something industry related (just a little boring, if you ask us). We thought we had a unique perspective of Tucson, because of our customers and our employees, and we wanted to share those with our readers. So in keeping with that spirit, I’m going to (every so often) sprinkle in a brief biography of an employee, or a customer, I think you should know about.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Juanita, one of Metro Car Wash’s best employees, and one of the nicest, friendliest people you will ever be lucky enough to meet. And since you are likely a Metro Car Wash customer, you’ll have every opportunity to look for her and say “hi” at your next visit to our Speedway location.

I picked Juanita to introduce, because I think her story (and her character) are inspiring and a great example of hope (in a somewhat depressing era).

Juanita applied for a job with Metro Car Wash three years ago. At the time, she had just immigrated to Tucson from Equatorial Guinea, one of the smallest countries in Africa. As it so happens, it’s also considered one of the world’s most corrupt governments (we’re talking torture and unlawful killings by security forces, no freedom of speech, and extreme poverty for most of the nation while the government big-wigs collect American oil money … not a great place to be).

Juanita’s father had actually been a Spanish-educated dignitary for the country, but under the corrupt government he was imprisoned while Juanita was just a child. After his release, the family moved to Gabon, a neighboring county, because of ensuing death threats against him. The family lived in Gabon for 13 years, but was in constant fear. Eventually, the US Embassy convinced the family to leave Gabon for the United States for their safety. When the family arrived, Juanita was pregnant; the father of her child had not been able to come with them. She spoke no English. She had never driven a car. And she had never had a job.

Shortly after their arrival, Juanita had her child. And because she was younger, and more capable of work, she set off to find a job while other members of her family watched her son. Metro Car Wash was lucky: she came to us first.

While Juanita didn’t speak English, she did speak Spanish. We were able to communicate with her, and while we understood that she had no work experience, we were impressed by her great smile, her courage, and her willingness to learn. When people are good people it shows, no matter what the language barriers are.

And so here is what Juanita did: She started learning English immediately. She started going to school and is earning her GED. She learned everything she could about the car wash business and her job responsibilities. She learned to drive (standard and automatic). She began to excel at every position we gave her … began training others, began noticing when there was a problem, began coming to manager meetings (Saturday at 6:00 AM) and began participating with good ideas to make our business better. She was promoted. Then promoted again.

I’m proud to know that Metro gave Juanita an opportunity. But most of all, I’m proud of Juanita herself. In a world where too many people make excuses for why they’re having problems, or why they’re in some kind of a jam, Juanita is a great example of what can be accomplished with a positive attitude, hard work, and determination.

The next time you’re at our Speedway location, look for her. She’s hard to miss. She’ll have a huge smile on her face, and she’ll probably shout out “hello” to you. She is Metro’s shining example of what we want our employees to be: hard working, friendly, and in fact charming. I once overheard Juanita tell a customer: “I don’t care if I’ve only met you once. I’ll treat you as if I’ve known you forever.”

From our perspective, we hope we have her as an employee of Metro Car Wash forever.

Until next time … stay clean my friends.

DJ DripDry signing off.

Metro's New Scholarship Program

2010-09-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

Consider this a follow up to last week's blog. Last week I mentioned that we were going to be launching a Metro Scholarship for at least one graduating Tucson high school student per year. This week, I thought it would be good to follow that up with a post from our upcoming press release on our one-of-a-kind fundraiser for the cause: Metro's Zombie Car Wash.

The press release is below. If you are a graduating high school student, are the parent of one, or just know one, be sure to pass this information along. We're really excited about this.

Haunted Car Wash promises thrills … and a scholarship

Haunted Houses are so yesterday. In today’s world of multi-tasking, why not get your car washed while you’re getting your Halloween haunting fix? At least that’s the idea local business Metro Car Wash has come up with in order raise money for their Metro/Harkin Scholarship Fund. They’re producing Metro’s Zombie Wash, which will be running on the five evenings leading up to Halloween from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM at the Company’s Speedway location.

The Company is utilizing over 40 volunteers to create a zombie-themed thrill ride. Patrons will remain in their cars, and as they are shuttled through the car wash (their vehicles receiving a professional cleaning), they’ll be treated to a veritable assault of ghastly zombies, the supposed result of a terrible government experiment gone wrong. Or something like that.

“A haunted car wash is something we’ve wanted to do for years,” said Sean Storer, co-owner of the Metro Car Washes in Tucson. “Now that we’re raising money for our Scholarship Fund, it seemed like the appropriate time to finally roll up our sleeves and make it happen.”

The scholarship is the Metro Car Wash/Harkin Scholarship, founded by the owners of Metro Car Wash, Sean Storer and Craig Celentano, and Jeremy Harkin, a high school English teacher at Sahuaro High School and Tucson’s 40 Under 40 Man of the Year (2009). Both Metro and Harkin have long been involved in the community and local charities. When Harkin, a Metro customer, and Storer began discussing their passion for education, they teamed up to form a unique Scholarship Program that will provide a minimum of one graduating high school student per year with the funding for at least one full year of tuition at Pima Community College.

“The extent to which the scholarship will reach,” said Harkin, “depends on the amount of money we raise. At a minimum, we will fund one student’s full-time course load for a full year. If we raise additional funds, then we’ll be looking at additional scholarships. We’ll also be looking at funding a second year of tuition for those scholarship recipients that do well in their first year at Pima.”

Application for the Metro Car Wash/Harkin Scholarship is open to all Tucson graduating high school students. Information and application instructions can be found at www.metrocarwash.com, www.metroscholarship.com, Pima Community College Foundation, or at either of the Metro Car Wash locations. Information on the Scholarship will also be available at the Zombie Wash.

“Ultimately, we’re hoping this event is something we can do every year,” said Storer. “Our intent is to keep sending students (who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity) to college year after year. With that being the goal then, we’ve really put a lot of work into making sure this Zombie Wash is a hit.”

The Zombie Wash opens on Tuesday, October 26 at 7:00 PM at Metro’s Speedway facility (located at 5150 E. Speedway Blvd., between Swan and Craycroft). It will run nightly until 10:00 PM through Saturday the 30^th. The cost to ride through the wash is $10 per car (cash and credit cards accepted). From the safety of your vehicle, you’ll then be treated to a car wash, as well as a good-old, hair-raising zombie attack. In addition, there will be a live DJ, refreshments, costume contest, raffles, and more. Further information on Metro’s Zombie Wash can be found at www.metrocarwash.com, www.zombiewash.com, or by calling Metro Car Wash at 520-795-9600. Proceeds from the event will go to the Metro Car Wash/Harkin Scholarship Fund, which will begin sending students to Pima Community College in 2011.

###

A Bad Economy, Charities, and A Haunted Car Wash

2010-08-31T13:10:00.000-07:00

The economy stinks. Nothing more really needs to be written on this topic. If you don’t hear it every day in the news, all you have to do is sit on a Metro Car Wash patio and listen to customers mutter about it (often with yours truly joining in). Just about every business owner I talk to these days is still down; it’s a scary time for most of us.

That being said, I think that in many ways it’s an even scarier time for charitable institutions. First, in tough economic times, demand often rises on charitable organizations. At the same time, funding and charitable giving declines. Moreover, charitable organizations can’t adapt to a challenging economy as quickly as for-profit businesses. A business can discount prices, or make an effort to offer more service; but charitable organizations, for the most part, are still relegated to waiting for our altruistic impetus to strike us. And let’s face it: with fewer dollars in our pockets, it’s a lot harder to feel philanthropic.

For any of you who know us well, you know Metro Car Wash has always had a fairly large focus on local charities. We do this for two reasons: first, we believe that it’s important to be involved in the community and second, it’s also a part of our marketing philosophy. But regardless of our efforts, we’ve noticed a significant decline in the use of our charitable programs … and our programs don’t cost a person anything (go to our Fundraising Page at www.metrocarwash.com to learn how charitable organizations can receive 15% of participating Metro Car Wash Sales).

We partner with over 20 Charitable Organizations in Tucson; unfortunately, activity related to almost all of them is down in comparison to our car counts. Since our car counts are down too, this means it’s a double whammy for these not-for-profits. You don’t need to be a bleeding heart to say this is concerning.

And of course, leave it to us to pick this time to launch a brand new charity—right into the teeth of our tight wallets. Yup, we’re picking now to begin raising money for our Pima Community College Scholarship. We’re going to be sending a minimum of one student per year, who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity, to a full year at Pima Community College. We’re very excited about this, but we also understand that tough economic times mean we’re going to have to get creative with our fundraising.

Creative we can do.

We've decided to pick this blog to be the official announcement for what we believe will be a very fun fundraiser. Coming this October, Metro Car Wash will be hosting a Haunted Car Wash at our Speedway location. That’s correct, folks: Tucson’s first haunted car wash … Metro’s Zombie Wash.

More information will be coming shortly to our website (and Facebook and Twitter), but I wanted to take this opportunity to let you in on our plans. For the five evenings before Halloween, Metro Car Wash will be host to zombies, terror, and mayhem (from 7pm to 10pm). If wallets are tight (and of course they are), then we want to give as much value back to you as we can for helping us raise money for this scholarship. This Halloween, we figure if we can scare you and clean your car at the same time, you won’t even miss those few dollars. And if you do think about them (the missing dollars), then feel good knowing they went to help put a student through one year of college.

Times are tough. But we’re not ready to give up. We hope you’re not either. And you can really help us by giving Metro’s Zombie Wash a little promotion. As we get closer to the date, Metro would really appreciate your spreading the word. More information to come.

And until then, stay clean my friends!

DJ DripDry

What Still Makes America Great

2010-08-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

Your friendly blogger, DJ DripDry, just returned from a much needed vacation. This year, my wife and I went to the Dominican Republic with a few friends. We like to pick out-of-the-way places when we can, not just to enjoy the adventure and unwind, but also because the cost is typically much less than resort hotspots. The vacation (barring a bout with a bad lobster) was a success. We enjoyed exploring a new country, took time to lie on the beach, and spent a little time sailing. But that’s not what this blog is about.

More than anything, I think I needed to get away from America for a bit, just to be reminded of how good we have it. (This is one of those things that may be worthless to write about. It’s easy to say. And just as easy to ignore if you haven’t experienced it personally. But I’m going to give it a go anyway.)

Before we took off (on a brutal red-eye flight that just about brought yours truly to his knees), I was a bit down on America. I was angry about the economy. I was frustrated by my staff. I was depressed about the labor pool. And I was irritated by how all of this seemed to be teaming up on Metro Car Wash (and small business in general). I found myself sounding curiously like my father (or my grandfather, for that matter), mumbling about how America had changed for the worse, and that workers didn’t seem to care, and that in the good old days things were just a whole lot better.

Then I spent 7 days in a very poor country.

Streets were crowded with running kids, mangy dogs, motorcycles with wobbly wheels, and careening (filthy) cars. There were no safety standards, no traffic laws (at least that were observable). Garbage filled the roads and sidewalks. We met some great people, but for the most part, customer service was non-existent. You were waited on when it was convenient for the seller … and … you … learned … to … wait … and … wait … and … wait. No one really cared about quality, speed of service, or delivering anything to you with a smile. And by the way, we were very friendly and spoke the language—this wasn't about being a rude American; this was just the way things were. In other words, they didn't have much of a business model (although I would like to mention a fairly inspiring car wash we happened upon that was “car wash by day” and “discotheque by night”). But ultimately, there was just a very sad feeling one got that this was the way things were going to be for a long, long time. The businesses weren’t going to improve their service; the workers weren’t inspired to better themselves for the future; and no one believed they had any kind of a shot at growth, opportunity, or financial progress.

It’s amazing what 7 days can do to your attitude.

Coming back into America, my wife and I were struck by how quickly lines moved (yes, even at the airport), by how many times we were greeted with friendly smiles, and by how superior the quality of … well … just about everything was. It was more refreshing than I’d ever imagined.

Then I went back to work at my own car wash. Here’s what I saw: lots of smiles while the Metro Staff worked very hard to provide a quality service in a very short time. I also saw satisfied customers, getting the value of the service they’d paid for, while often times pleasantly interacting with the Metro Staff (one gentleman even had pizzas delivered to Metro for the good job we’d done on his truck). Put simply: I was very proud of our customers, our employees, our Company, and our Country.

We may be frustrated with government, our economy, health insurance, and taxes. But America is still a great place to be, folks, on so many levels. The streets are clean and safe, the plumbing works, and the water is good. Police and Fire Departments respond when we call. Our doctors and hospitals are competent. Computers, Wi-Fi, and cell phones deliver instant information and entertainment on levels unheard of in other areas of the world. And more than any of this, there is the knowledge (embedded in most Americans) that there is still the opportunity to better yourself if you’re willing to try. Put another way, there’s hope. And hope can go a long way.

So when I looked at our car wash with a fresh set of eyes, I was reminded (in my own back yard, so to speak), why America is still great. It’s great because you can still dream of bettering yourself, and it’s great because the chance of doing so is a good one (if you’re willing to put in the work).

At Metro, we have employees that have come from less fortunate places; they’ve learned our language, worked hard, and saved enough to own cars and homes. We have employees that see Metro Car Wash as their future; they see a growing organization and want to be a part of it for the long haul, want to participate to make it better. We have employees that don’t want to be car washers forever, but they do a great job because they’re funding some other dream—they’re attempting to be Hip-Hop artists or they’re students studying to be engineers. There’s nothing special here; just Americans being Americans in another small business in America. But I have to say: it’s a wonderful place to be.

Good to be back, folks. And as always, stay clean my friends.

--DJ DripDry

What I've Learned From the Car Wash

2010-08-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked how I got into the car wash business. It’s actually a question that get’s brought up frequently. I’ve been in the business, now, for 12 years. I used to be a CPA (a very different life). And people want to know: how did I get from there to here. But as I gave my answer, I realized something: How I got to be a car washer is not nearly as interesting as the lessons I’ve learned since I began washing cars for a living. Maybe it’s this way with any business. But I can assure you, running a car wash could fill a book with Life’s Little Lessons.

So I thought I’d take the time to write down just a few of the things I’ve learned from the car wash. Here’s a very abridged list in no particular order:

Clean cars do make people happier, but most people don't wash their cars regularly.

Out of the 400 customers you see in a day, 398 are wonderful; but it’s the other two you'll talk about over dinner.

People carefully look their car over after a wash, not before; but you have the same chance of winning the lottery as you do of convincing a person a scratch might have already been there (even when we don't have anything that scratches paint and the gash looks curiously like the lingering story of an unhappy shopping cart incident).

Being generous to your employees will break your heart long before it breaks the bank.

Wearing a T-shirt and shorts to work is immeasurably better than wearing a white-collared shirt and a tie. Also related: leaving your job to gamble on starting your own business is one of the scariest, hardest, most draining things you can do; and for the most part, you'll love every minute of it.

It really does mean something to be locally owned and operated.

The better you get at what you do, the dirtier your competition becomes. And while I'm saying that, let me say this also: people, for the most part, are honest; but don't ever be surprised by how dishonorable your competitors can be.

The customer is not always right; but neither is the business.

Immediately taking responsibility for bad service or poor quality can provide you with an opportunity to find a life-long customer (and sometimes a friend).

Don't ever be so arrogant that you won't listen to a complaint or a suggestion; you can always make your business better.

Most of the cars on the road are dirty and most of those people have never heard of Metro Car Wash.

Whatever the temperature is, it's always a lot hotter when you're drying off cars.

Working at a car wash is not a job that gets the opposite sex excited; I'm glad I'm already married.

It rains more often directly over the top of a Metro Car Wash (than other spots in Tucson).

You should never be so busy that you can't take time to talk to your customers ... or your employees.

The boss’s mood, good or bad, is a fast-spreading virus; smiles and frowns are both contagious.

You always have to spend time working at the lowest position to really know what's going on in your business; step out of your office every day.

Compliments from customers never get old; complaints always hurt.

A really good start to building a successful business is getting up early … every day.

I could keep writing folks, but I’ve got to go. There are cars to wash (maybe yours). So until next time, stay clean my friends.

DJ DripDry

Letter to the President

2010-08-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

Believe me: this is not a political statement. My hope is that our Company would never appear biased. The purpose of this blog, as stated in our very first posting, was to provide readers with a unique perspective regarding our Tucson customers, our employees, and our small business. That being said, we felt some of this information might be enlightening to our President as well. Recently our President has been touring the United States, stopping in to visit small businesses to get a feel for the economy and our struggles on a ground level. I appreciate this endeavor. And to that end, here is a copy of our letter to the White House.

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to you to provide you with a brief picture of our small business. We appreciate the challenges placed before you and we empathize with you. As a small business in Tucson, AZ, we have our challenges as well. This letter is not a complaint; we have no intention of whining (it’s never done us much good anyway). What this letter is, is an honest and straightforward attempt to provide you with a ground level view of the issues we face, the goals we still have, and the entrepreneurial spirit we refuse to give up. Above all, we want you to know that we still believe in this Country. And we want to make sure that, in at least some small way, we are a part of the efforts aimed at bringing America back to prosperity.

As a little background, let me tell you that my business partner and I own and operate two car washes in Southern Arizona. We have about 60 employees. We do not come from wealthy families, so to achieve the dream of owning our own business we worked and saved until (in 2002) we were able to purchase our first car wash. Since that time, we have put everything into our business to assure we deliver great customer service and an exceptional product. We believe we’re succeeding on these fronts; we wash a lot of cars and have an extremely loyal fan base. We love what we do. And we think it shows to both our customers and our employees.

But working hard and loving what you do isn’t always enough. We’ve gone through (and are still going through) an extremely challenging period. Like so many other businesses, we’re struggling.

I wish that there was one clear problem I could point to. I wish there was one blatant, giant, issue that, if resolved, could get our business back on track. But of course, things are more complicated than that. There isn’t one cause. And there certainly isn’t one, single universal solution (I assume you would understand this more than just about anyone).

In terms of our business, things started down an uncomfortable road with the increase in Minimum Wage. For a car wash, whose Labor accounts for over half of its expenses, this increase created a significant strain. Unfortunately, we had to cut jobs. I don’t necessarily disagree with Minimum Wage increases, but for small businesses, it simply equates to a cost increase that can not be born (at least in the short-term) by the consumer. In other words, you can’t raise your prices to match a Minimum Wage increase, because your customers won’t be your customers anymore. And to add even further weight to our troubles, shortly after this cost increase, the economy began its slide. “Raising prices to cover the increase” never even became an option. We were more concerned about customers continuing to simply drop by. Our product was still a great one, but unemployment, pay cuts, and general fear have a considerable impact on what the public views as a prudent purchase. It is what is. And so cash got short and we went looking for any and all refinancing options in hopes of freeing up working capital and gaining a little bit of breathing room. Sounded like a good idea. Only … I’m sure you can imagine how that turned out.

The truth is: I wake up every morning worrying about whether or not we’re going to make it. I worry about paying my mortgages. I imagine the shame of failure. I think about what a tragedy it would be for a business like ours to go under—not just for me personally, but for the thousands of customers who have come to love us and the 60 employees and their families who depend on us. This fear is real.

But doom and gloom isn’t the real point of this letter. You’re out attempting to get a look at “the ground level” of our economy. I appreciate that. And I think you also need to know that, for all the bad news generated, there is still a lot of heart out here too.

At least where our small business is concerned, here are some of the bright spots I see.

First, these hard times have made us a much better business. In order to survive, we’ve had to re-engineer our entire business model to make it more efficient. When we do come out of this bad economy, we’ll be stronger than ever.

Second, this economy has made us a more generous company. That may sound odd, but it’s true. It is our belief that an economy will prosper only when all areas in the community get their footing. We became concerned about the impact the economy was having on our local charities and not-for-profits. And in an endeavor to help them, we created a fundraising program that is far more proactive than anything we’d done during the “good times.” Our two little car washes are now partnering with (and raising money for) over 20 local and national charity organizations in Tucson. Not only this, but we’ve created our own scholarship program in order to send a high school student (who otherwise wouldn't have had a chance) to go through two years at our local community college (full tuition paid). I mention this, not to brag, but to show you signs of hope. When times get tough, America needs to find its generous spirit—its one of the things that truly makes us great.

Finally, I believe this economy has bettered the relationship between employer and employee. There is no question that our employees seem to value and appreciate their jobs more these days. But likewise, as an employer, we've found ourselves much more involved with our employees too. We’re more empathetic to their financial struggles, because we’re all in the same boat. Furthermore, we know that in order to keep customers, we have to have happy employees to deliver our desired service. And having happy employees requires more than writing a paycheck—it involves listening, partnering, and helping in non-financial ways. As an example, our Company is now offering both free Financial Planning Classes and free English Classes to our employees. We may not be able to provide them with all the financial benefits we’d like to, but we’re also learning there is still a lot we can give. And this translates into mutual appreciation and an improved working environment. Again, it’s better than it was in the “good times.”

I of course have no misconceptions: I realize that it is very, very unlikely you will ever read this. But on the off chance that you do, I’d like to extend an invitation for you to come visit us. We’d love the opportunity to show you, firsthand, the challenges we are facing, as well as the solutions we are implementing. And if we don’t meet, well, know this: Metro Car Wash wishes you the best in your efforts to rebuild this economy. We understand that there is a monumental task set before you, Congress, and the American people. We also know America has always been greatest in the face of trial. For our part, we’re going to keep on fighting at the ground level. We’re going to continue to be inventive, continue to focus on our customers, and continue to strive to be the best business in Southern Arizona.

Respectfully,

Metro Car Wash

Don’t know if he’ll read it, folks. But until next time …

Stay clean my friends.

-DJ DripDry

How Tolstoy Helped Our Car Wash

2010-07-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

In the last few months I’ve been receiving an unordinary number of compliments on Metro Car Wash. It’s nice to hear; we’ve been working very hard to make our Company better. But of course, like anything that comes together, it takes more than hard work. Hard work has to be directed. I thought I’d take the time on this blog to mention where Metro’s impetus for improving our car washes came from—the unusual place we found direction. For what it’s worth, I think it can be applied to just about any business. And so maybe this can be a help to someone else too.

Curiously enough, Metro’s “business makeover” began with Anna Karenina, the novel by Leo Tolstoy. More specifically, it came after reading another great book, Guns, Germs, and Stee l where the author Jared Diamond introduced me to the Anna Karenina Principle.

Anna Karenina begins like this: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

The Anna Karenina Principle, based on this opening line, essentially says the following: To have a happy family, everything has to be just about perfect (there has to be love and respect, kids have to be obedient, there’s a good economic income, etc.). But if just one small thing is off, it can take away the entire shot at happiness. In other words, it doesn’t take much to mess things up!

Diamond used this principle to help describe an evolutionary trait. Metro Car Wash adopted the Anna Karenina Principle in a different manner.

We said: All great car washes are alike; every bad car wash is bad in its own way.

What did we mean by this? We decided that for a car wash to be a great business it has to be succeeding in all of the following areas:

§ A Quality Product has to be delivered

§ The product has to have a Value Price

§ Great Customer Service has to be delivered

§ The Facility has to be clean and inviting

§ The Employee Working Environment has to be fun and positive

§ And all of the above has to be accomplished while managing cost

If a car wash falls short in any one of these categories, then it can hurt the entire business. To repeat what I said earlier: it doesn’t take much to mess things up!

But thinking about our business in this manner really gave us direction. We started with that simple list and created a Plan that addressed fixing our business in any area we felt we might be falling short. Of course no one is perfect. And every business knows there is room for improvement. But by simply taking the time to write down everything that has to be in place to be a great business, we found we had a much clearer view of the path we needed to take.

That path, by the way, wasn’t an easy one. Another thing the Anna Karenina Principle did for us was to show us just how far away we were from the Company we wanted to be. It took well over a year before we felt things started coming together … and we’re still not satisfied. But that’s another thing Tolstoy is doing for us: he’s given us a measuring device that we can repeatedly match ourselves to. We see what it takes to be great and we gauge ourselves constantly to see how we’re doing in chasing that goal.

It may not be scientific. And it may not be earth-shattering. But this simple principle has helped us a ton. I hope it might help some of you.

And until next time, stay clean my friends.

DJ DripDry

Where Are All the Employees?

2010-07-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

My wife and I sat down in the bar of a local restaurant the other day. It was mid-afternoon—not a typically busy time—but we seemed to have arrived during a little bit of a rush. It took longer than normal for the bartender to get to us and when he did, he looked a little flustered. He grabbed our order in a hurry and there wasn’t much in the way of friendly customer service (certainly not the normal bartender banter). Then it took too long for our drinks to actually arrive. I leaned over to my wife and made the comment: “This place is really under-staffed.” I spoke with the critical, knowing-edge of a sharp-minded business person. “They need to get their act together,” I added firmly.

The next day, as I walked down the hallway of Metro Car Wash, I overheard one of my customers talking to our cashier. The customer said: “Wow, you don’t seem to have many employees today. Is this going to take a long time?”

I quickly hijacked the conversation. I swooped in and assured the customer that her wait time would be around 15 to 20 minutes and that there wouldn’t be any problem in quickly getting her on her way. I smiled confidently, letting her know she could trust me.

“But where are all your employees?” she persisted.

Together we looked around. It did seem quiet. It reminded me of how much had changed in the last few years—how many more employees we used to have—and then it sheepishly reminded me of my comment about the restaurant needing to get their act together the day before.

The truth is, most business have fewer employees these days. And no one should be surprised by this. It doesn’t matter what your politics are, it’s about economics.

First, we’re still seeing the effects of the increases in Minimum Wage. Minimum Wage increases may be good in the long run, but in the short term, businesses have to figure out how to deal with this increased cost. They have two choices. They can either (a) raise prices or (b) cut jobs. And let’s face it, in this economy, raising prices doesn’t sound like a great idea.

At the car wash, we had to completely re-engineer our Operations Model to be able to provide the same quality, in the same time, at the same price, with fewer people. It wasn’t an easy task. But it had to be done. And the hard work paid off. We’re a better Company for it. We’re more efficient and we’ve kept our prices low. The only problem: it doesn’t change the fact that we’re employing far fewer hard-working Americans.

It got me thinking about the bartender and the restaurant. This establishment was fighting against the same economic forces as any business: a sputtering economy, fewer dollars being spent, and rising costs. They needed to survive, and they were working hard to do so. But one of the things they hadn’t done? They hadn’t raised their prices. The cost of our drinks (and subsequent meals) were about the same as they were a few years ago. As a matter of fact, there were a few specials that might have made things even cheaper.

I had complained about the lack of service. But the truth was, we had just dropped in during an unplanned rush. They couldn’t have known they would be busy then. And they shouldn’t have staffed more employees just for us. Staffing extra bodies to handle a potential rush in a bad economy isn’t a good business decision … at least not if you want to keep prices low for your customers. It was me that had been wrong, because I’d been impatient.

Look, I’m not saying you should ever have to be satisfied with poor customer service. You shouldn’t. But what I am saying is this: Maybe, just maybe, we can all learn to be a little more patient in this rough economic time. If things take just a little longer, because a struggling business is trying to watch their expenses, it might be good to remember that they’re saving you a little money too.

The other thing I’m saying: If we all work together, we just might get through this mess.

And of course, stay clean my friends.

-DJ DripDry

How You Can Save the Economy

2010-07-13T14:36:00.001-07:00

I think it’s fair to say that we’ve all been affected by the economy. And not just now, but in the long-term as well: our perceptions on spending and saving and the true value of purchase have been fundamentally adjusted. This is a good thing.

But it’s also fair to say that a lot of us tend to knee-jerk to the other end of the spectrum. The media sells sensationalism and we’re pushed into fear. We grip our wallets tighter and wait for the worst. The only problem is: this isn’t helping the economy recover any faster.

Economists say we won’t recover until consumers start spending again. But consumers need to, understandably, be prudent. Where is the balance?

In my own family, we’ve actually discussed this. We’re spending less. We’re saving more. But we’re also making a conscious decision to start dipping our foot back into the consumer pool. We’re loosening up our pocketbooks a little in the hopes that (a) we’ll enjoy life a little more and (b) we’ll help the economy a little bit. To help us in our spending decisions, here are a few ground rules we’re laying down:

First, we’re trying to spend locally in Tucson. If small businesses are the backbone of the economy, then that’s where we’re going to spend our money. Buying from local Tucson companies (whatever the product or service may be) is going to help create Tucson jobs and bring a pulse back to our economy.

Second, we’re going back to good old economics to help us in our decisions to purchase. More specifically, we’ve been talking about opportunity costs and how “doing it yourself” isn’t always as cheap as it seems.

As an example, think of the real cost of eating at home. First, you have to grocery shop—you have to drive to the store, find a parking spot, push a squeaky cart, and stand in line behind someone paying with pennies, all before you see the register tape that will invariably total more than you thought it would. Following a trip back to the car (same squeaky cart), unpacking groceries into your now blazing hot vehicle, you drive home to unpack the very same items. Your supplies now taken car of (assuming you didn’t forget something on the list), you now have to prepare the meal. Obviously cooking time will vary (depending on what you are concocting and how many you are feeding), but all in, you’ve spent at least an hour and half before actually eating your culinary masterpiece. Then, of course, you have to clean up.

The point? Your time is money. Everyone places a value on free time differently, but it is at least worth what you make per hour at work. Taking this into account, when you add the hard cost of your groceries to the time it took to shop, prepare, and clean, you’re spending a lot on a meal. Probably more than you realize. And in this economy, there are restaurant deals every night that offer a meal (and service and cleanup) at a price that may be less than what you’re spending at home (FYI: sites like www.tucsononthecheap.com are great for finding nightly deals).

There are hundreds of examples like this. Of course, here at Metro we prefer the car wash example: at Metro Car Wash you can get your car vacuumed, dusted, washed and the windows cleaned in 15 minutes for under $10. And the price to do it a home? Add up the cost of two hours of your time, an increased water bill due to a running hose, and a scorching sunburn on your neck—there’s no comparison.

Here’s the thing: Saving money is important, but we need to think about doing it in the right way. Sometimes, we might save more by not doing it ourselves. And then, in addition to saving yourself time and money, you’ll feel significantly better knowing that you helped save the local economy too.

Stay clean my friends,

DJ DripDry

Happiness is a Clean Car

2010-07-06T15:57:00.001-07:00

Here’s a quote I bet you haven’t read before. It’s from Sri Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian Spiritual leader born in 1926.

“You cannot be fresh and feeling fine, wearing a washed vest under an unwashed shirt; or, an unwashed vest over a washed shirt. Both have to be clean to provide a sense of tingling joy.”

The tingling joy part aside, it reminds me of something my uncle said to me the other day:

“Clean cars. Clean underwear. They both make you feel a whole lot better.”

And they do!

There are a lot of reasons you should wash your car (preferably at Metro Car Wash) including the maintenance of your paint and vinyl, keeping up the saleable value, and not looking like a slob to your boss in your company parking lot. But all that being said, one of the best reasons to get your car cleaned is simply to make you feel better.

A lot has been written lately about removing stress from your life by getting more organized, cleaning your house, or giving your office filing system a makeover. I think keeping a clean car does the same thing, on several levels.

First, it does feel better to walk out to a shiny car in the parking lot. You may not acquire the same confidence you would if you were walking out to a new Porsche, but it will let you hold your head up just a little bit higher. Let’s face it: it says something about you. It says you care and that you’re responsible. In an unassuming manner, it’s sort of stating that you’re cool. And feeling even a hint of cool will almost always get you feeling better.

Next, there’s that great feeling of sliding into an uncluttered surrounding. When there aren’t balled up bank receipts and tissues on the floor, when the console isn’t sticky with latte spills, when the dash isn’t sneeze-ably thick with dust, when there aren’t cracker crumbs and broken toys in the child seat … well, there’s peace. It may not remove all of your stress, or solve the mess you might have gotten yourself into last night, but it certainly can be calming—a little, sealed space in this world where things are clean and neat and you can listen to the music of your choice. Even if it’s only for a little while.

I often like to tell my employees that we are in the business of making people feel better, we just happen to do it by cleaning your car. And there is truth in this. You can see it in our customer’s faces when they drive away—they’re happier. I just wish more people knew this trick.

So the next time you’re feeling a little down, don’t go blow your diet on an ice cream sundae (which you’ll regret just a few minutes afterwards, and the mess of which will probably end up cluttering your car even more). Instead, try a car wash (again, preferably from Metro). And find out why I always say:

Stay clean my friends!

DJ DripDry

Why Metro Car Wash is a Lot Like the Rolling Stones

2010-06-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

I know what you’re thinking: I’m stating the obvious.

Sure DJ DripDry has the same swagger as Mick Jagger. Sure, his business partner OG Celentano (prior to the success of the Patch) burned just as many cigarettes as Keith Richards. And yes, yes, yes: the screaming fans and all that. But the similarities run a bit deeper than most people realize.

For starters, it took the Rolling Stones a little over eight years to become the biggest band in the world. Likewise, it took Metro Car Wash about eight years to become Tucson’s favorite car wash. It takes time to grow a fan base, no matter who you are. Word-of-mouth advertising is great; you just have to be patient. The Rolling Stones started in 1962 and by 1970 (when they were recording “Sticky Fingers”) everyone recognized them as a band at the top of their game. Metro Car Wash started in 2002, and as of 2010, with the release of Metro 2.0, we feel like we’re on our game too. We’re far from perfect, but we’re working harder than ever to be the best service business in Tucson (not just the best car wash).

It’s also interesting to note that, just like the Rolling Stones who started off with Brian Jones as a key member of the band (he was actually the founding member) and then fired him in the middle of their success, Metro Car Wash started off with three partners, but had to make the tough decision early on to lose one also. It’s never easy to make these calls. But sometimes, the most difficult decisions are the best ones. Personnel (that fits) and teamwork are vital to a band’s success (and a business’s).

Here’s another similarity: In 1971, when The Rolling Stones were recognized as the biggest rock band in the world, they were also essentially broke. They’d gotten into tax trouble and contract trouble, and had to flee to France to record “Exile on Main St.”, the album that has just been re-released. Now, rest assured, the guys at Metro aren’t broke (knock on wood), but it is interesting that customers always think things are rosier than they seem. They see the lines of cars and the crowded lobbies, and they assume car washes are money machines. They aren’t. Unless you’re inside an industry, you can never really know how expensive it is to keep things going, especially if you want to maintain high standards. At Metro, we’ve been plowing every spare dime back into the business. We have a long-term outlook on financial growth. And like The Rolling Stones, we don’t anticipate hitting Easy Street until we’re a little older.

Which brings me to my last point: we plan on being around as long as Mick and Keith too.

One of my favorite things about The Stones is that they seem to never to get tired of what they do. They always do a great job, and when things get boring, they re-invent themselves. At Metro, we’d like to think we’re no different. We’ve made a lot of changes over the years. And we’ve re-invented ourselves too. Our customers seem to like the changes, but were not done yet. We’ve got some big things planned for this year—not necessarily a world tour—but we think you’re going to like them.

Stay tuned. And as always, stay clean my friends.

DJ DripDry

The Customer Isn't Always Right (But You Can Feel Sorry for Them)

2010-06-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

One of my least favorite sayings (ever since becoming a business owner) is: “The customer is always right.”

No offence to H. Gordon Selfridge who supposedly coined the phrase, but it really is nonsense. No one is always right. And more importantly, there are actually some very bad customers out there—customers that aren’t only wrong, but whom you really don’t want as your customer at all.

There is a lot that has been written about businesses “firing” their bad customers, of course. And that discussion is nothing new. But in today’s economy, when you’re doing everything possible to bring a customer through the door, it’s a lot harder not to stand there and take it … to actually let the customer always be right. And unfortunately, it feels like there are more and more bad customers every day.

Now I want to be clear: if you are a business delivering poor customer service, or poor quality, you get what you deserve. The consumer market is obviously the very best assessment of your value and you need to always measure this (at Metro we utilize a Secret Shopper Program). If you’re getting consistent complaints about your business, you need to listen to your customers and fix something. This is not what this blog is about. No, what I’m talking about here are the just plain mean, nasty, greedy, ungrateful, rude customers. The ones with a scowl on their face before ever entering your door; the ones a magic genie couldn’t make happy. And let’s face it: they’re a beast of a different color altogether.

The good news, of course, is that these customers are actually few and far between. At Metro, we wash about 800 cars a day—that’s a lot of people’s lives we touch, if only for a few minutes—and almost every one of them is pleasant and appreciative of the service we provide. It’s just that the nasty ones (the ones that do or say things that leave your jaw hanging open in astonishment) are the ones you remember. They’re the ones you go home thinking about; the ones that get in your head and can wreck your day (and then perhaps have a negative impact on the good customers too). These individuals are few in number; they just make deep impressions.

I don’t know that there is a perfect way to handle them, btw. I just know that they will inevitably cross your path. And for what it’s worth, here’s what I do to keep myself sane:

First, I really do try to see the logic or the sense in what they’re saying. I listen to them intently and see if maybe we’ve done something wrong. If we’re not (wrong), and they’re just being rude and unreasonable, I calmly take a step back and remind myself of something my wife once told me: “When you see someone that’s mean and bad-tempered, there’s a reason. Someone’s making their life hard. Someone’s hurting them. It may be a very bad day, or it may even be a very hard life. You just happen to be the one they’re taking it out on.”

I like the sense in that. It doesn't ever make their actions justified, but it puts things into perspective. For me, it allows me to let them escape from my day (and my life) without leaving too much of a negative mark. I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry for whatever story lies underneath their nasty demeanor. And with this hurting economy, those bad stories are only getting more common.

Last weekend, a man with a scowl on his face walked up to me and my manager as we were talking. He pointed at his car that was in a Detail Bay for a hand wax; then he pointed a meaty finger in our faces. He said (and I quote): “No one’s started waxing my car yet! I’m a cop. If you don’t get someone working on that car, I’ll make one call and this business will be !@%*# up!”

I wish I was making that up. I’m not (although I do want to say we wash the cars of several great police officers who have become our friends).

In shock, we looked over to the car. What the customer couldn’t see was that one of my best workers (also my shortest employee) was just finishing the wax on the opposite side of his car. My manager pointed this out to the customer. In response, the customer said: “Oh. I didn’t see.” And that was it. Not a hint of an apology. He just turned away and continued to scowl.

As my manager and I backed away, I could see my manager was upset. And he had a right to be. The guy had just accused us of something that wasn’t true, he had threatened us, and neither of those things seemed to matter to him. Inside the lobby, we found our cashier a little flustered. She described the same man; she said he’d been rude and short to the point where she’d felt uncomfortable. Obviously, this was a nasty customer. And unfortunately, he had gotten into the heads of my employees.

I told them both to shake it off. I quoted my wife. I told them to enjoy their day. Whatever was behind that guy’s attitude was awfully sad. I told them not to be bothered by him; just feel sorry for him. And then I told them to be thankful they didn’t have anything that bad hanging around their neck.

It may not be a perfect solution. But really, what else are you going to do? My advice: get them out of your head as quickly as you can. Don’t let a rotten customer pass their mood on to you. Smile. Go shake the hand of a good customer and then thank them for their business. Slap an employee on the back. Roll your shoulders and be grateful. You’ll be surprised how quickly you get your mojo back.

Stay clean my friends (and happy).

--DJ DripDry

Working at the Car Wash Blues

2010-06-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

Let’s face it: washing cars is not glamorous. I get that. I doubt any parent has ever said: I hope you turn out to be a doctor, an engineer, or maybe even a professional detailer! College kids aren’t listing their local car wash as a career aspiration; we don’t get the same resumes as Google or Apple (although maybe BP now); and we never make anybodies annual list of Best Jobs. It is what it is.

But what’s unfortunate, I think, is how this translates into a perception of the type of person that actually works at a car wash. It isn’t a good one. There is a stigma attached to car wash employees (and car washes in general). All you have to do is go to Yelp or Yahoo and read reviews of car washes; the negative comments follow these businesses like toilet paper stuck to their heel (except for Metro, of course). Or cast your memory back to Jim Croce’s song “Workin at the Car Wash Blues;” that one did wonders for the industry—funny, but a lot of truth there too.

Working at a car wash is a tough, labor intensive job and the pay isn’t great. The people who work at a car wash are rarely there by choice. They're there because it's a paycheck. And for the most part, it’s an industry that will overlook a lot of past baggage. In other words, it is often times a last resort.

But at our Saturday morning meeting this past week, as I was looking around at the rather engaged faces of my employees, I realized just how sad it was that our customers couldn't see this side of Metro Car Wash. I have a feeling they'd be stunned.

First, you need to know that we have meetings every Saturday morning at 6 AM. The meetings rotate between our two locations. It's mandatory only for the Location Manager and our General Manager (and me), but it’s open to any employee that wants to come (again, at 6 AM on a Saturday morning). The point of the meetings is to step away from the details of our jobs and focus on the bigger picture—what we’re doing to stay ahead of the competition, what we’re doing to create a positive work environment, what we’re doing to make ourselves better. We discuss marketing concepts, secret shopper evaluations, books, and business theories. We have homework assignments. We set up company and personal goals (that we actually go back and measure). And we review financials; we teach and learn the details of a Balance Sheet and an Income Statement.

Granted, it may not sound as exciting as a Lady Gaga concert. But here’s the interesting thing: we now have about 15 employees showing up to these meetings (a lot of them on their days off). And they’re there with note pads and questions and fresh ideas. The meetings last one hour. No one ever falls asleep. And usually, we’re cutting off a good discussion in order to get set up for the day.

It’s probably not what you would expect … from car wash employees.

Yes, there are people in these meetings with baggage. There are people with tattoos; people still learning English; people that are recovering alcoholics; people who have been in trouble with the law. There are some sad stories, for sure. But more importantly, there are some great stories. When you look around at our meetings, you see individuals who are just beginning to realize that they have something valuable to offer. You see confidence begin to grow as others listen to their ideas. You see attitudes improve as they realize that they are part of a business culture that believes they matter.

Look, I’m not saying that Metro Meetings are changing the world or the source of Dali Lama-like inspiration (they are not). But they do prove to me just how wrong stereotypes can be. We’re all guilty of ascribing to preconceived notions of what someone is like (based on their gender, or their careers, or the color of the skin). It’s a difficult thing not to do. But it also makes us miss meeting some great people (or maybe finding inspiration in an unlikely place).

So the old adage still rings true: Don’t judge a book by its cover. And the next time you’re at a car wash, shake an employee’s hand. You might be surprised to find out you just read the same great book on marketing.

Stay clean my friends.

DJ Drip Dry

Here we go ...

2010-06-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is: our first blog. Maybe we’re a little late to the game. But then again, for a car wash, maybe we’re early.

We’ve given this quite a bit of thought, btw—the reason we’re blogging. Obviously, we hope it somehow gets us noticed (more). But we also just started feeling like we had something to say. Being a successful car wash company, we see hundreds of people every day, from every walk of life, in every different mood you can imagine. It gives us a unique perspective. It leads us to believe we have a little bit of a finger on a little bit of the pulse of our community. And with that being said, there is also the possibility that this Metro Car Wash blog just might be able to bring a little value to Tucson. It’s what we’re hoping for.

This is not a political site. And it is not a site dedicated to car care (although we might mention a few things about cars along the way … it is what we do, after all). Ultimately, we're a small organization in a struggling economy and we're fighting to stay alive. We're doing everything we can to improve our business, our customer service, and the lives of our employees. From that, stories are born (funny stories, sad stories, hopeful stories, and honest stories).

This blog is an effort to capture the spirit of our community, therefore, as well as the spirit of Metro Car Wash. In some ways, maybe it’s just a car wash diary. In other ways, it might become our new best tool to communicate with our customers. Regardless, we hope someone likes what they read. We'll be discussing everything from why Car Washes make America great, to why they help hurt America's image. We'll let you know why we believe car washes are a bell-weather for the local economy and why they’re a great tool for measuring a community’s attitude. We'll discuss our success stories, our failures, our business model (like Metro 2.0), our employees and you, the customers. Everything’s fair game. And we’re really looking forward to this.

Stay clean, my friends!

-DJ Drip Dry